Loki Admin: The Selkirk Rex Legacy
by Usyra
Summary: This is the untold adventure of a Ghoul who had a significant impact in the lives of Yugi and his friends, written in the first person. Completed at last, now with a closing theme after the last chapter.
1. The Story Begins

Hi. I'm Usyra, and this is my first fanfic. Before you start reading, I want to make something clear. When a duel starts, the lifepoints are displayed like this:

Loki/opponent

Or like this:

Good guy/Bad guy

That's all for now. Enjoy!

**000000000**

With my deck prepared for the assessment, I was finally ready. For the better part of my life, I lived in a hut on a mountain in Ireland. Selkirk Rex, formerly a world champion before Kaiba defeated him, took me under his wing and taught me Duel Monsters, as well as some swordplay.

By the way, he's not in any way related to Rex Raptor. A Selkirk Rex is a cat.

Well, a man named Marik came along and said he thought my talents could greatly benefit the Ghouls, and wanted me to duel someone to test my skills. And so, gathering my cards and constructing my best deck, I went to find the meeting place.

Before I left, I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Loki…"

"I am Siege now," I corrected.

"You really want to associate yourself with these people? They seem dishonorable."

"I know. But it's the best way to fill up my collection and hone my skills. Besides, I'll probably dump them once my deck is perfect." I turned away, ashamed. "Plus...I want to get back at Seto Kaiba for taking your Blue Eyes White Dragon. I know you said it wasn't important, but it is to me. The shames you carry as Selkirk Rex will be passed to me when I take that title."

"…Very well. I can't stop you. But take this card with you." He took his necklace off and handed it to me. The pendant on the end was shaped like a card.

I opened the pendant, and looked at the card within. "Fusilier Dragon, the Dual-Mode Beast. It's your favorite card! You really want to give this to me?"

He nodded. "Think of it as a promise that you'll return it to me someday."

I closed the pendant and put it on. "Thank you, Sensei. I vow to win every duel I play."

With one final bow, I ran to the meeting point.

**00000000**

Much has happened over the course of two years. I finally completed my deck, and I became one of Marik's elite. Kaiba was defeated by Yugi Moto, who went on to win the Duelist Kingdom tournament and defeat Pegasus. Later, he also defeated Duke Devlin at his own game. By that time, I was 16 years old.

After Marik received word of the Battle City tournament, he sent us immediately on his private plane. The instructions were simple; acquire the final Egyptian God Card, and defeat Yugi Moto. With his links, he hacked into the database and added the names of his elite, giving us Duel Disks, which Kaiba required us to use. It felt awkward on my left arm, but I eventually got used to the feeling after a few practice duels with some Ghoul thugs.

My current companions were Seeker, Lumis, Umbra, and Marik himself. If you aren't familiar with the Battle City saga, I'll explain who these guys are. Seeker is a duelist who relies on getting all five cards of Exodia the Forbidden One in his hand, which he does quite frequently since he has three copies of each piece in his deck. But he cheats: the pieces are all fakes, and marked with an invisible ink that can only be seen with a contact lens he wears. Lumis and Umbra – the masks of light and dark, respectively – are tag-team duelists. Lumis provides spell and trap support, while Umbra provides monsters. Both of their decks have a mask and doll theme.

As for Marik…well, he's beyond words. He controls a magical object called the Millennium Rod, which lets him control the minds of people. His deck is filled with devastating traps and spells, but only two monsters. The first is the Mystical Beast Serket, and the second is the Winged Dragon of Ra. That's all he needs to completely crush anyone who gets in his way. Hell, if we were battling by the Kaiba Special Rules, he wouldn't even need Serket. That's just how powerful that card is.

Seeker grinned at his deck. "Excellent. Yugi Moto will fall to my ultimate deck."

I smirked. "And Kaiba will fall to me." It was a little known fact in the Ghouls that I had a grudge against Seto Kaiba, not that it mattered if they did know. In all honesty, being a Ghoul simply gave me another excuse to bring Kaiba to his knees.

"Wait a minute!" snapped Lumis. "Who says you get to duel him first?"

"Exactly!" Umbra chimed in. "We're going to take him on first."

"And of course, you'll do it together," I prophesized. "After all, you're helpless when you're separate."

"HEY!"

Seeker smirked. "He's not wrong. You always gang up on people in duels, because your decks depend on each other's support. Mine, on the other hand-"

At that point, we drowned him out, since what would follow is a five-minute rant on why he was so powerful. "Look, there's a perfectly simply way of solving who goes first. Rochambeau!"

We three raised our fists in front of us. And together we said, "Rock, paper, scissors… SHOOT!" I won with scissors.

"Damn!" exclaimed Umbra. "This happens every time!"

"Well, maybe if you chose something other than paper," snapped Lumis.

"Why don't _you_ choose something other than paper?" Umbra shot back.

"Tough break," I said with a shrug. "But, on the slim chance I fail in my battle with Kaiba, you two can take a stab at annoying him to death."

Before more angry words could be exchanged, Marik entered the room, and we ceased bickering immediately. When Marik enters, you show respect. He gave us our assignments, which was basically a hit list with duelists and rare cards. I looked at my assignment and smiled. Rebecca Hawkins, Rex Raptor, and Seto Kaiba; all big names. Also, I was to befriend Yugi and infiltrate his clique, to scout any potential hostages and possessed duelists.

"We land in five minutes, gentlemen," said Marik. "Happy hunting."

As soon as we landed, Seeker got a tip on Joey Wheeler. I wondered if I should follow behind to "rescue" Joey after his defeat, or start gathering rare cards. I dug out a coin and flipped it into the air.

It landed tails, so I decided to gather cards.

I already had plans on who to wipe out and when. I'd take out the Hawkins girl first. Then I'd crush Rex Raptor, and end with Seto Kaiba. Using a tracking system programmed onto my PDA, I located the Duel Disk of Rebecca Hawkins in Domino, where the tournament would be held. I took my issued motorcycle and went to meet her. The streets of Domino were very clear. No surprise, since it would be filled with dueling the day after the next. I stopped about a block from where she was and parked my bike.

A brisk walk later, I found her outside the aquarium. She seemed a little upset about something. "What's the matter?" I asked.

"I heard it closed at 7:00. It's really closed at 4:00. I meant to see it before the tournament, but I didn't plan it well enough."

"That really stinks. You know what I do to relieve stress? A duel."

She turned and raised her eyebrow. It wasn't because of my appearance, obviously. I wore a black sweater vest and pants, and a red shirt; nothing overly abnormal. It was the probably the Duel Disk. "You're a duelist too?"

"In a nutshell. What do you say, Ms. Hawkins? A duel with Battle City rules."

"But that means if I lose, I forfeit my Luster Dragon!"

"True. However, it also means if you win, you get my Injection Fairy Lily."

Rebecca thought about it for a moment. "…Ok, sure! Let's go!" We cut and shuffled our decks. "By the way, I didn't catch your name."

"Siege will do." We launched the holo-projectors and activated our disks. "Duel."

4000/4000

"I'll start, if you don't mind," said Rebecca. "I play Sangan (1000/600) in defense mode, and end my turn!"

"Interesting. Now, I summon Mataza the Zapper (1300/800). Its special ability allows it to attack twice per turn. I attack your monster!"

A second later, her little hairball was in the graveyard. "You triggered his special effect, letting me add a monster with 1500 or less attack points to my hand."

"It can't help you right now, though. I attack you directly!

4000/2700

"Now, I'll place two cards facedown and end my turn."

Rebecca had to think for a second on how to best deal with this situation. Clearly, she never faced a Ghoul before. "I use Graceful Charity, letting me draw three cards at the cost of two. Then, I use Cost Down, letting me sacrifice a card in my hand to reduce the level of all monsters by two for the rest of the turn. And, I play Shadow Ghoul (1600/1300)! It's special effect increases its attack points for every monster in my graveyard."

I smiled. "Interesting. With the monsters in your graveyard, it brings your monster up to…2000?" I operated under the assumption that every card she threw away was a monster.

"You got it! I attack with green vapor shroud!"

"Sorry, but you can't touch me! I reveal my facedown cards; Spirit Barrier and Astral Barrier."

"What?"

"Allow me to explain. Astral Barrier lets me make any of your attacks direct attacks. Spirit Barrier stops any damage to me as long as I have a monster on the field. Together it means you can do no damage to me as long as I have a monster!"

Rebecca growled. "How am I supposed to fight that?"

"With great difficulty. End your turn?" She nodded. "Great. Because I think it's about time I end this duel. I equip my Mataza with the Big Bang Shot, increasing its attack by 400. Then, I summon the Berserk Gorilla (2000/1000). Its special effect requires it to attack whenever it can. So, I use it to destroy your Shadow Ghoul!"

Since their attack strengths were equal, they both ended up in the graveyard. "No, my Shadow Ghoul!"

I shrugged. "Sorry to do this but…Mataza, attack her twice for the win!" Two swipes later, her lifepoints were gone.

4000/0

Rebecca pounded on the pavement. "Drat! I thought I could defeat Kaiba!"

"Pardon? You're after Seto Kaiba?"

"Years ago, my dad gave Solomon Moto a Blue Eyes White Dragon. But I discovered Kaiba tore it in half so he'd own the only ones. I entered the tournament to get revenge."

I found it strange, our similarities. We were two young duelists with a grudge against Seto Kaiba. "How despicable of him. As it turns out, I'm looking for Kaiba as well. When I see him in the tournament, I'll give him your regards…after I mop the floor with him."

She searched her deck for a second and handed me her Luster Dragon. "Here's the card you won, Siege."

"Thanks," I said as I put it in my deck. "Good luck with the rest of your ventures."

Once she walked away, I looked at my PDA and noticed that Seeker located Joey Wheeler. After watching for a few minutes, Wheeler's blip on the screen stayed where it was, while Seeker's walked away. I groaned in disgust. He always insisted on smacking down his opponents before taking their cards. It gave us reputations of being mere thugs. Obviously, we weren't, since Marik planned to rule the world with the God Cards and the Pharaoh's power; being one of the closest Ghouls to him, I knew his plan exactly. In fact, I was the one who stole Slifer the Sky Dragon from its hiding place.

But I digress. Once I saw Joey lost, I decided to go to his rescue. But as I took a few steps, a woman blocked my path. I recognized her immediately from Marik's description, and the Millennium Necklace. "Ishizu Ishtar."

"Stray from this path you're following," she warned. "Marik's actions will bring the end of the world."

"In spite of what you think, I'm pretty sure the future isn't etched in stone. Now, be a good girl and tell me where Obelisk the Tormentor is."

"What good could come from telling you? You could never hope to defeat an Egyptian God Card, anyway."

"Oh, well. I just thought I'd ask. It doesn't matter; someone in Battle City will play the card, and we'll know when it was played and by whom within seconds. It's a matter of time; you're simply stalling." I calmly walked past her and said, "Good evening."

**00000000**

I made no effort to hurry to Joey's location. Actually, I rode as slowly as possible. Knowing Rare Hunter, Joey wasn't going anywhere. When I found him, it was early the next morning. He was just staggering to his feet.

I ran over to him and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Ugh…no, I'm not. Some freaks in black hoods dueled me and took my Red Eyes Black Dragon."

"That really sucks."

"That's not even da worst part!"

"No, it…" Then I frowned. "It's not?"

"No! I promised I'd visit my sister in the hospital! Today's the day of the surgery that might save her eyesight, and I'm not there for her!"

I suddenly felt several pangs of guilt. Had I been the one to duel him, and known about this, I certainly would've let him slide a little. "This is terrible! Of course I'll help you get to the hospital." I was glad none of the other Ghouls were around, because I never would've heard the end of it.

I supported him as best we could as I helped him to my bike. Just as we reached it, another biker appeared. "Joey? Where have you been?" he demanded.

"It's a long story, Tristan."

I nodded. "And if what he tells me is true, we're very short on time."

"We are," replied Tristan. "The hospital called, and said Shizuka refuses to do the operation until Joey arrives!"

"Then let's stop chin-wagging and get a move on!" I snapped. "The name's Siege, by the way." I helped Joey onto the back of Tristan's bike, and they took off once he was secure. I hopped on my bike and followed.

About halfway to the hospital, I heard Tristan yell out to a few people on the sidewalk. When I looked over, I saw Yugi Moto and one of his friends. A part of me was tempted to stop and duel him, but I was worried about Joey's sister, though I never met her. Besides, Yugi wasn't on my hit list, and Seeker would duel him anyway.

Once we arrived, I reached over to help Joey, but somehow he got his strength back and started running to the hospital. I guessed it was something about a sibling bond that gave him his newfound strength. Either way, Tristan and I ran after him.

When I arrived, I saw Joey talking to his sister through the door. "Please, open the door so we can talk!"

"No! You said you'd be here, Joey! I was so worried!"

"I'm sorry. I know I let you down. I was cornered by some jerks in hoods, who forced me to duel. And then I lost my best card before I even started in the Battle City tournament." He leaned on the door, tears in his eyes. "I can't do anything right! I must be the worst brother in the whole world! But I promise, I'd never do anything to hurt you. You're my friend, Shizuka. Nothing can break the bond between us."

He got off the door and asked, "Will you please come out and give your big brother a hug?"

The door opened, and my breath escaped. Shizuka Wheeler was absolutely gorgeous! I so desperately wanted to introduce myself, but would've felt the fool to break up such a touching scene.

They embraced, tears welling up in her eyes. After that, the doctors led her into the surgery room, and we took a seat outside.

"Hey, Siege."

I turned to Joey. "Yeah, what's up?"

"Thanks. Without your help, we might've been too late."

"No thanks necessary, Joey. After all, it was Tristan who brought you to the hospital. Incidentally, maybe we should get you some pain killers. You don't look so good."

"I've been through worse; I'll survive. Huh?"

"What?"

"You have a Duel Disk," Tristan said. "You're a Battle City duelist too?"

"Yeah. My rating is five, and my rarest card is Injection Fairy Lily. You said earlier that a bunch of thugs took your Red Eyes Black Dragon?"

"Yeah," said Joey. "They called themselves the Ghouls. The one who beat me had three sets of Exodia."

"The Ghouls," I blankly repeated.

"You know them?"

"They're an organization of duelists devoted to finding rare cards. I've been following them for quite a while, but they never stay in one place for too long."

"So, they got you too? What'd they take from you?"

"I lost a dragon of my own: Chaos Emperor Dragon." Technically that was true. After I won it, I was required to put it in the extensive card library of the Ghouls. "Such a card would give even Seto Kaiba a run for his money."

"Those damn Ghouls! I'm gonna hunt down that one who took my Red Eyes Black Dragon! Just you wait."

I grinned. "I don't think waiting is an issue. With a tournament filled with hundreds of duelists anteing rare cards, you're sure to find your man." I stood up. "See you at the tournament." Before I left, I added, "By the way, I know which one you're talking about. I think he's known as Seeker. Give your sister my regards." With that, I walked away.

I knew I was betraying the Ghoul's code by revealing one of their names. If Marik found out, he'd be furious. But I wasn't concerned; firstly, he had no way to know, since I was the only Ghoul around to hear. Secondly, Seeker had it coming. I never liked him or his strategy. I had a feeling Joey would find him and, knowing Seeker's strategy, defeat him. I'd actually root for Joey's win if I were there. But, I decided to move down the list and go after Rex Raptor.

I yawned, realizing I hadn't been to sleep yet. I thus decided that so I didn't pull any more all-nighters, I'd wait until the tournament began before dueling again. I checked myself into a hotel and collapsed on the bed.

**000000000**

As I slept, I dreamt about Sensei and his teachings. He hired an arena for the afternoon to test my skills. I was on my way to losing my third time.

1000/3500

"Come on," said Rex. "Surely your deck is useful for something. I built the deck myself."

"Don't you worry, Sensei," I shot back. "I'll clobber you as soon as I draw the right card."

"Rather than wait for the right card, you should try to make full use of the cards you have. After all, you've yet to master the art of Destiny Draw."

"What is that?"

"I taught you the origin of duel monsters, and of the nameless pharaoh. All of his descendants were taught about the heart of the cards. With faith in their cards and something to fight for, they can gain the ability to draw any card in their deck when they're in danger. Such a draw is known as Destiny Draw. Now, concentrate! My next move will finish you. Have faith in the heart of the cards, and draw what you need. Visualize it!"

I squeezed my eyes tight. "Come on, deck. Show me your stuff!" And I drew. As I did, I felt as if some of my body heat was transferred to the card I held. I was afraid to open my eyes for a second, but I finally looked.

Rex smiled. "I sense you've performed the Destiny Draw! Now, show me what you've drawn!"

"Right. I activate Dark Hole, destroying all monsters on the field!" Within seconds, the field was clear, and Rex was open for a direct attack. I sighed and leant on the platform, yawning loudly.

"That's Destiny Draw for you," said Rex. "It takes quite a bit of willpower to pull it off, but the rewards are excellent. With a bit more practice, you'll be able to pull it off with less energy. But for now, continue your turn."

"Right. I summon Battle Ox (1700/1000), and attack you directly!"

1000/1800

"Well done, Loki. Anything else you'd care to do?"

"No, I end my turn."

"Very well." Rex shrugged and said, "Sorry to belittle your accomplishment, but I'm afraid I'll have to put you at another disadvantage. I activate Megamorph, and equip it to your monster!"

"Huh? But won't that double my monster's strength?"

"No. You see, my Megamorph would only double your monster's attack points if my lifepoints were lower. But since they're higher, they're cut in half instead. Then, I summon La Jinn of the lamp (1800/1000), and attack your monster!"

50/1800

I groaned. "Dang! How can I have faith in the cards when you're handing my butt to me?"

"Don't give up. Focus, and attempt another Destiny Draw. I end my turn."

"Alright." I reached for the top card of my deck and closed my eyes. "Heart of the cards, don't let me down!"

I never saw what I drew, because the amount of energy I spent drained my consciousness away from me. Over time, my deck became better, and I needed to use Destiny Draw less. I still don't know whether or not my Destiny Draw worked. I didn't ask, and Rex didn't tell. It's a mystery that I just don't feel like pursuing.

End Chapter

I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. There'll be a lot more dueling action in the following chapters, so stay tuned. And in the meantime, please read and review.


	2. Battle City under Siege

Before we kick off, I'd like to thank e.t.e.r.n.i.t.i.e.s.E.C.H.O. for the review. 

**00000000 **

At last, the day of the Battle City tournament arrived. Hundreds of cards to take, only one Egyptian God. I made a quick start, hoping to get Raptor before somebody dueled him. I saw him for a brief second, conversing with Weevil Underwood and Mako Tsunami. Yugi Moto and Mai Valentine were also there, watching the three stooges exchange banter. 

Before I reached them, the three of them split up, and I lost Raptor in the crowd. A short time later, Valentine left Yugi alone. For want of a duelist, I decided to pass the time by befriending Yugi. I walked over and asked, "Yugi Moto?" in my most charming tone of voice.

"That's right. And you're…?"

"Siege. I met your friends, Joey and Tristan two days ago."

"Oh, that's right! Joey said you helped him get to the hospital in time for Shizuka's operation." He offered his hand. "Thanks a lot."

I shook his hand. "Someone in need takes priority over everything else. That's my motto."

"And any friend of my friends is a friend of mine." I, of course, was glad to hear it. "Joey says you're a duelist. I hope we meet up in the finals."

"Me too. Just don't expect me to take it easy on you. Yugi?"

"Yes?"

"Though we're also rivals from hereon out, I should warn you. There's an evil force at work, though you probably already heard that from Ishizu."

Yugi gasped. "No way! You spoke with Ishizu too?"

"I've exchanged a few words with her, yes. Don't ask me how, but I'll warrant the guy who took Joey's Red Eyes Black Dragon probably has something to do with it. Just watch yourself, my new friend." I ran off before he could ask another question.

I did it again; once more have I committed treason against the Ghouls. But I couldn't help it; I just really wanted Seeker to take a fall. Besides, Marik probably wouldn't care, what with Seeker being the weakest of his elite.

When the clock struck nine, Kaiba started broadcasting on the loudspeakers. I looked around, wondering where he actually was. Then I was covered in shadow. Looking up, I saw Kaiba Craft 3 overheard. I was distracted at first, but turned away. I already knew I needed six locator cards to find the site of the finals and that we anted our rarest cards, so I just decided to ignore him and concentrate on finding Raptor.

I whipped out my PDA and tried to search for Raptor. "What?" My PDA told me the connection was lost. I ascribed the signal failure to the blimp. All I could do was lean back and wait for stupid Kaiba to shut up.

I closed my eyes and thought back to Yugi. _"So, that was the little guy who defeated Kaiba and Pegasus. I heard that Solomon Moto was quite a duelist in his prime. If Yugi learned to duel from him the same way Selkirk Rex taught me, our clash in the finals will be something to be remembered."_

Then I realized he'd never reach the finals if Marik succeeded in his plan. Now I was conflicted. Hoping to duel Yugi in the finals meant wishing for Marik to fail. I didn't like this paradox, and decided to take my mind off it by playing the part I was assigned.

Once the blimp was far enough away to prevent any signal damage, I tried my PDA again. After a minute, I found Raptor again. I ran over, hoping to catch him before he dueled someone.

"Let's duel!" Dammit.

I worked my way through the crowd to see who was getting in the way of my prize. Twas Espa Roba, the psychic duelist. I heard of his ability to read minds, but never believed it to be true.

But Espa put his fingers to his head and started making weird noises. Then he said, "The cosmic forces inform me Serpent Knight Dragon is in your hand already. It's almost as if he knows who more deserves to own him."

Raptor flinched. "What? I can't believe you figured it out!"

I studied the scene. There didn't seem to be anyone signaling him. Then a glint caught my eye. I pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked towards that glint. It came from atop a building, where a bunch of kids who looked like smaller versions of Espa stood. One held binoculars, and one had a radio transmitter.

I studied Espa with a frown, noticing his strange hairstyle, and how it conveniently covered his ears. _"Cheating,"_ I sadly thought.

I had three options. First, I could march right in there, pull out the headset, and reveal the scam. Secondly, I could use my PDA to jam the radio frequency, leaving Espa blind. Or thirdly, I could let Raptor squirm for a while.

I opted for three. So, I decided to take a walk, returning once the duel was finished, and go after whoever held Serpent Knight Dragon.

In the meantime, I'd start to accumulate a few locator cards. I examined the duelists, deciding which one of them would be my first victim. _"Hmm…one potato, two potato, three potato, mashed!" _The one I thought of looked quite strong, though physical strength seldom had any merit in a duel. I walked over and said, "Excuse me."

He turned around. "What do you want, half-pint? You think you can duel me?"

"That's right. Do you accept?"

"Please! I eat bigger things for lunch. You won't stand a chance."

"Can you bite as well as you bark?" I challenged.

That got his attention. "Alright, I accept! I'll take your locator card and send you crying to mommy." We shuffled our decks, stepped back, and activated our disks. "Let's duel!"

4000/4000

"Since I clearly stand no chance," I said, "I'm sure you won't mind if I start things off. I summon Berserk Gorilla (2000/1000) and end my turn."

"I play Panther Warrior (2000/1600)! Since its effect requires me to sacrifice a monster to attack, I'll just place one card facedown and end my turn."

I grinned. "Looks like it's over already."

"Oh, yeah? I play Scapegoat, placing four sheep tokens on my field. That means I now have four monsters to sacrifice."

"It matters not if your forces are one or many, for soon there won't be any." I don't remember where I heard that quote, but it fit so well. "First, I play Riryoku, draining half your Panther's attack points, and adding them to my Gorilla. Then, I activate Lightning Vortex, letting me discard a card from my hand to destroy all your face-up monsters."

The man looked stupidly at his empty field. "No way!"

"Way. And finally, I summon Maha Vailo (1550/1400). And together, they attack you directly!"

4000/0

The guy looked at me with a blank look. "I can't believe…who are you?"

"Does it matter? Now, hand over your cards; your rarest and your locator." He groaned and handed me what I requested. "Manticore of Darkness? What a lovely gift." I bowed respectfully and started walking away.

"You…give it back!" He screamed as he charged me.

I calmly spun on my heel and kicked him in the chest, knocking the wind out of him. He sunk to the ground. "You can play with beast monsters, but I'm the king of this jungle. You'd do well to remember that."

I considered relieving him of a few more rare cards since he wouldn't need them, but decided against it. And so, I went off to find a few more challenges.

Regretfully, ever since I joined the Ghouls, very few people have survived ten turns against me. Also, most of the damage was self-inflicted, like using Injection Fairy Lily's effect. Finding someone I could be on equal terms with seemed impossible.

"You." I turned to the voice that broke me out of my thoughts. "I saw you defeat that man. Your skills intrigue me. I challenge you."

"I accept. The name's Siege."

"And I am Lance Halberd. Duel!"

4000/4000

"I shall start," said Lance. "I set a monster and end my turn."

"Ok. I play Graceful Charity. Then, I set one card and summon Spear Dragon (1900/0). Whenever it destroys a defense monster, it does trample damage; then it automatically switches to defense mode. I attack your monster!"

4000/3300

"You have destroyed Warrior Lady of the Wasteland (1100/1200). By doing so, I get to bring out a new Earth monster with up to 1500 attack points. I choose Exiled Force (1000/1000)."

"I end my turn."

"Very well. Now, I summon Goblin Attack Force (2300/0), and equip it with Lightning Blade, raising its attack points by 800. Exiled Force, destroy the dragon!"

"Sorry, but I activate Negate attack. Your battle phase ends."

"True, but I can still eliminate your monster. I use Exiled Force's ability: I sacrifice it to destroy Spear Dragon."

"Not bad," I admitted. "My turn. I set a card and a monster, and end my turn."

"In that case, I summon Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke (1800/1000). It attacks with kunai rush!"

"You destroyed my monster. It's the Magician of Faith (300/400), and it lets me take a spell in my graveyard and add it to my hand."

"Now, Goblin Attack Force attacks you directly!"

I snapped my fingers. "Reveal Magic Cylinder, which negates your attack makes you lose what I would've lost."

4000/200

"Plus, because of Goblin Attack Force's effect, it switches to defense mode."

Lance was looking less confident than when we started. "It is your move."

"Ok. I play Graceful Charity again. And now, for the final move; I activate the End of the World ritual! By sacrificing the Newdoria and Archfiend Soldier from my hand, I bring forth Demise, King of Armageddon (2400/2000)! Demise, attack Sasuke and deplete his lifepoints."

4000/0

"Geez!" said Lance. "You completely overpowered me. Well, here is my locator card, and Gilford the Lightning."

"Thanks," I said as I took the cards. "Now, I'm halfway to the finals."

"And the finals are lost to me," said Lance, "for that was my only locator card."

"I'd apologize, but rules are rules. I'll see you around."

As I walked away, my PDA beeped. I looked at it and noticed Raptor was defeated by Espa Roba. However, Espa was now engaged in a duel against Joey Wheeler. I grumbled, unhappy with my hopelessly inadequate timing.

According to the map, Kaiba wasn't anywhere in Battle City yet. So, as I waited for a few duelists to accumulate more locator cards, I decided to take some lunch.

End Chapter

Ok, this chapter was a lot shorter then the last one, and the duels were probably too short to take notice of. But next chapter will be a little longer, and Loki gets the chance to avenge his master. R&R, please! 


	3. Revenge With One Card

As I waited to be seated, I read the bulletin board. There was nothing interesting, until I found a wanted ad for duelists.

Wanted: A skilled duelist. Must be able to defeat roughhousing thug in a duel. Will pay Guardian Angel Joan for services. Speak to the girl by the clock in the center of Domino.

It almost sounded too good to be true. But until I found out where Obelisk the Tormentor was, I had nothing better to do. When my turn came, I simply ordered an iced coffee to go. Then, after gulping it down as fast as I could, I ran to the meeting place. I didn't have to wait a long time to find the girl by the clocktower, since there was only one there.

I walked over and said, "I'm here about the job."

She happily sighed when I said that. "Thank goodness. Every day at about noon, a dueling punk comes into my dad's restaurant. He's loud and he's rude to the waitresses. We tried to ask him to leave, but he said he'd only leave if we beat him in a duel. The next stop is to call the cops, but the bad publicity-"

"I got it," I interrupted. "Just point him out when he arrives, and I'll beat him."

And so, I waited until noon. I didn't mind; by then, most of the potential finalists would have three locator cards. About five minutes to noon, my PDA informed me Kaiba was not only in Battle City, but played Obelisk the Tormentor. If I beat him, I could get two birds with one stone, but I promised the girl I'd stay. Even if I'm a Ghoul, I have a strict policy to keep my word. However, keeping my word also meant following Marik's orders.

With so many conflicting emotions, I flipped a coin to decide. To my disappointment, it flipped in favor of staying, and I angrily groaned.

But I calmed myself as I put the coin away. None of the other Ghouls could defeat him, and he was probably waiting to duel Yugi in the finals. So, I knew I'd at least see him and his God Card in the finals.

"There he is," the girl eventually said, pointing out the thug.

"I see him." I strode over before he entered the café and blocked his path. "Hello there."

He snorted in contempt. "Get out of my way. I'm cranky when I'm hungry."

"I heard you're a real tough duelist. And smart, too! How about for an appetizer, you take me on?"

"Heh. I bet the owner's brat put you up to this. Do you really think you can beat me?"

"Let's put it this way. You're a Battle City duelist too; I can tell from your Duel Disk. How many locator cards do you have?"

"Two."

"How about we duel in an official bout, and the winner gets two locator cards from the loser."

The man smiled. "Sounds cool to me. As a side bet, if you win, I won't return to this café; if I win, you give me your six rarest cards."

"It's a deal. My name is Siege."

"They call me Darius Lynch. Ready?"

"It's time to duel!"

4000/4000

"I'll go first," said Lynch. "First, I set one card, and then set one monster. Go ahead."

"Ok. I summon Archfiend Solder (1900/1500) and attack your monster!"

Lynch smirked. "I reveal Macro Cosmos! As long as this card's on the field, any card sent to the graveyard is removed from play instead."

"But if your monster's removed, you'll never get it back!"

"That's what you think. Unfortunately, the card you destroyed is D.D. Scout Plane (800/1200). Since you destroyed it, Macro Cosmos removes it from the game. But because of its effect, it returns in attack mode at the end of the turn."

_"What's this strange vibe I'm getting from this guy? Have I met him before?" _I smiled slightly. "Clever. I set a card and end my turn."

"And the Scout Plane returns. Now, I activate The Cheerful Coffin, letting me discard up to three monsters from my hand."

I frowned. "What? Why would you play a card whose only purpose is to discard monsters?"

"You'll see. But first, I'll activate Mirage of Nightmare. Here's how it works; after your draw phase, I get to pick up cards until my hand has four. Then, after my draw phase, I have to discard the same amount I picked up."

I raised my eyebrow. "It's almost as if you want to throw your deck away." Then it hit me. "No…you want to remove as many cards from the game as possible!"

"Caught on now? Good. Now I'll switch my Scout Plane to defense mode and end my turn."

I drew, and he picked up four cards too. His means were clear, but I wasn't sure what the end was supposed to be. But I was certainly sure enough that whatever it was, I'd hate it. "Go, Berserk Gorilla (2000/1000)! Archfiend, destroy the Scout Plane…again." And after it was gone I said, "Berserk Gorilla, attack directly!"

4000/2000

"I end my turn."

After the Scout Plane returned, Lynch drew one and discarded four. "You're too late. Now I'll reveal why I removed so many cards. I summon Gren Maju Da Eiza (?/?)! Its attack and defense points are equal to the number of cards I removed from the game, times 400."

After a quick calculation I blurted out, "3200 points!"

"That's right. And come my next turn, four more cards will be removed, and it'll go up to 4800. But I'm jumping the gun. Gren Maju Da Eiza, strike down Archfiend soldier with chaos claw attack!"

2700/2000

"Go ahead." Again I drew, and again he picked up four. "And don't think I'm oblivious to Berserk Gorilla's effect. It has to attack whenever it can, and it's destroyed when it's switched to defense mode."

"True. I have to attack. And I shall. But first, I play Riryoku, cutting your monster's strength and adding it to my monster's strength. Gorilla, wipe him out with primal fury!"

2700/0

Lynch gasped. "You beat me!"

"That was a tricky match, there. But even Riryoku can bring the strongest monster to its knees, as Kaiba is sure to discover."

He handed me his locator cards, as well as Snatch Steal, his rarest. "Kaiba, huh? You should give me a ring when you face him. That'd be an interesting match to see. But wouldn't it be smarter to wait until the finals to face him?"

I winked. "He has something I'm after."

"Ah, the Blue Eyes White Dragon."

"No. He has something even rarer – something even stronger. I won't spoil it, but I'm sure he'll play it in our battle." But first thing's first. I walked over to the girl and said, "Mission completed."

"And as promised, here's your Guardian Angel Joan." I took it and placed it straight into my deck, along with Snatch Steal. "And know you're always welcome in our café."

"Thanks. Lynch, let's head out."

**000000000**

After thirty minutes of searching, I arrived in time to see Kaiba taking a locator card from his latest defeated foe. "Watch and be amazed, Lynch," I said.

As I walked over, I heard Kaiba's little brother Mokuba say, "Nobody can stop you now, bro!"

"If you're impressed now, wait until I get the other two," said Kaiba.

"The other two what?" I asked loudly enough for him to hear.

Kaiba turned slightly. "That's none of your business."

"That's where you're wrong, Kaiba. What if I told you I knew exactly what and where 'the other two' were?"

That got Kaiba's undivided attention. "Go on."

"I know of a man. He may or may not be a Ghoul, and if you beat him, he'll tell you exactly where to find one of the God Cards. His name is Siege, and…" I said as I pointed my finger at him, "…he challenges you to a duel, Seto Kaiba!"

"Another Ghoul, huh?" asked Kaiba with a note of interest. "Then you're after…"

"Obelisk the Tormentor," I finished. "I know you have it. I want it."

"It's time to teach you a lesson you won't forget." Kaiba activated his Duel Disk, and I did mine. "En garde!"

4000/4000

"After you, Kaiba," I said.

"You'll wish you hadn't said that. You'll need all the help you can get. I summon Lord of Dragons (1200/1100), and play Flute of Summoning Dragon, allowing me to bring forth two Blue Eyes White Dragons (3000/2500)!"

I looked in mild interest at his field. "I imagine that's supposed to scare me. But facing a pair of Blue Eyes White Dragons isn't impossible; it's simply difficult."

He smirked. "My, you're a confident one. Unfortunately, confidence alone won't defeat me. Make your move."

"As you wish. Now, my deck's almost completely incapable of bringing out two level eight monsters in one turn, but I have my ways. I set one card and play a monster in defense mode. Go ahead."

"I will. I activate Pot of Greed, giving me two more cards. And now I play another Flute of Summoning Dragon, letting me play the third Blue Eyes, as well as Hyozanryu (2100/2800). And, I sacrifice my three Blue Eyes White Dragons to summon Obelisk the Tormentor (4000/4000)!"

It may have started as holographic imaging, but when a God Card is played, suddenly it seems quite real. And I admit it looks much more threatening up close and personal.

Lynch had his mouth open like a guppy. "That…that…"

"Remember that card I told you about earlier?" I asked. "This is it. Darius Lynch, meet Obelisk the Tormentor." I turned to Kaiba. "But your jolly blue giant doesn't scare me, Kaiba. You can win the duel in this turn, or you can lose this turn."

Kaiba laughed. "You can't fool me, Siege! I can see the fear in your eyes! Now, I offer my remaining monsters to activate Obelisk the Tormentor's fist of fate!" The monsters turned to energy, which flowed into Obelisk's fist. Then he brought it down.

I closed my eyes and sighed. "Goodbye, Kaiba. I reveal my trap."

"No trap can destroy Obelisk!"

My eyes flew open and I grinned. "I wouldn't dream of hurting Obelisk, but I have no problem with hurting you. My trap is called Barrel behind the Door. Your monster's effect will damage me, so this card negates the effect and gives the damage to you instead."

Kaiba suddenly wasn't in such a jolly mood. "What? But I-"

"It was nice knowing you!" A revolver appeared and the cylinder swung out. The energy in Obelisk's fist was drawn into one of the chambers, and the cylinder went back in and spun around. Then it stopped, the trigger pulled, and the energy erupted from the barrel, crashing into Kaiba.

4000/0

The shock was so powerful, Kaiba passed out. I walked over to the former world champion and reveled in my victory. "You took my Sensei's Blue Eyes White Dragon, and was defeated four years later by his student. How poetic." I took Obelisk the Tormentor off his Duel Disk, and relieved him of a locator card.

Mokuba shook his brother. "Seto! Seto! Please, wake up!"

"He'll be fine in a few minutes," I said. "When he comes to, tell him if he wants another crack at me and my God Card, he'll find me at the finals." I started to walk away, but stopped as I remembered. "Oh, by the way, as for the location of the other God Cards, the first is in Battle City, in the Quiet One's deck. The other is coming soon, located in the deck of our leader."

So I betrayed Marik's confidence again. I held Obelisk the Tormentor! He wouldn't stay mad for long.

As we walked away, Lynch looked at me with complete awe. "You're holding one of the strongest cards in existence!"

I felt that vibe from Darius again. "That's right. Well, it was a pleasure. I'll see you later." And I ran off on that note.

I had all six locator cards and an Egyptian God Card, and before I had any real lunch. I considered placing my six locator cards on the Duel Disk and viewing the map to where the finals were being held, but my stomach rumbled. The finals didn't start until six, and it was only one. Besides, I only had a cup of iced coffee that day.

Food it is, then.

End Chapter

Yay, Kaiba bites the dust, and with only one trap card! Will Marik truly get his hands on all three Egpytian God Cards? What's with Darius Lynch? What will Loki have for lunch? …Was that last question even necessary? Who knows? Please just R&R.


	4. A Code of Honor

With my belly finally full, it was time to meet Marik at the Battle City finals. As I walked down the street, my PDA beeped, but I ignored it. With two more hours until the finals started, I simply didn't care anymore.

I decided to use my cards to find the location of the finals. I placed each one in each of the six slots in my Duel Disk. It was in the arena that was still under construction. I decided to record the location on my PDA, but stopped suddenly. Something was wrong with my display, and I knew exactly what it was: too many active duelists were missing. Seeker was defeated, as was Pandora, Strings, Lumis, and Umbra.

_"They _all _lost to Yugi? That kid's even stronger than I thought."_

Suddenly, something occurred to me. One of Marik's contingency plans was to force one of his friends to duel using the Millennium Rod, in case Yugi found a God Card. And according to my PDA, Yugi and Kaiba were moving quickly across Domino, possibly on a helicopter, to Joey's location at Domino Pier.

"_My God! Yugi's still just a kid, even with a pharaoh's spirit by his side."_ I never considered that Yugi would actually acquire Slifer the Sky Dragon, so I didn't think the plan would come to pass. _"Marik may be my boss, but he has no business picking on a little kid."_

With that, I ran as fast as I could to Domino Pier, though it was inconveniently built across town. And my bike was too far in the other direction. Running was all I could do, and I did; so fast I almost crashed into someone.

Actually, I lied. I _did_ crash into him. Luckily, we both regained our balance. "Hey, watch it!" growled the man.

"Sorry, I didn't…" Suddenly, I felt déjà vu. The one I ran into was holding Shizuka Wheeler's hand. "Shizuka Wheeler?"

"Who are you?" Right, she never actually saw me. Also, there were the bandages over her eyes, so she would've have recognized me anyway.

"My name is Siege. I helped Tristan get your brother to the hospital."

"Oh, you're one of Joey's friends!" said the man. "My name's Duke Devlin."

"Hey, I know you! You're the one who invented Dungeon Dice Monsters! It's a pleasure to-" My statement grinded to a halt when we heard the screech of tires. We spun around to see the car that stopped just in time.

Mai Valentine glared at us from behind her car. "Hey! Cross on the green, not in between!"

"Please, you gotta help us!" pleaded Duke. "We're being chased by a bunch of robed weirdoes!"

"Hmm…ok, get in!" We didn't need further persuasion. We quickly jumped in and took off. As we drove, Duke said he was worried that Yugi and Joey might have been captured by those guys.

I zoned out in the conversation, hoping to take my mind off of what happened. I knew for a fact they were captured by the Ghouls: the very organization I served for two years. I knew they were dishonorable when I signed up, but I overlooked it because it was a chance to gain cards and experience. But it's Yugi Moto, a kid! Marik had absolutely no right to kill him, even if he did hold one of the strongest Duel Monsters in existence.

Truly, he'd gone too far. I was a Ghoul no more.

I was so lost in my thoughts I didn't notice we picked up Tristan. But I snapped to attention when I heard Tristan say they needed to go to the pier.

"Are you sure?" asked Mai.

"Now that he mentioned it," I said, "I heard a rumor about a bunch of Ghouls hanging out down there."

"Alright. Hang on, guys!" With that very simple warning, she did a complete 180 turn. Shizuka and I braced ourselves. Tristan and Duke weren't so lucky, but at least they were still in the car.

**000000000**

But in spite of Mai's fancy driving, we arrived too late. A quick glance around the scene showed me Marik was dueling through Joey, and was using a girl as persuasion for Kaiba not to interfere, with that create hanging above her head.

A remote-controlled helicopter flew in, heading straight for the crane. The Ghoul within was about to press a button that would make the crane drop its load, but I saw Kaiba throw a card at him, which stuck in his hand, causing him to drop the remote. He tried to retrieve it, but Kaiba was extremely agile, and took him out first. Then the copter dragged the crane into the ocean.

It was a cool sight, but I didn't have time to appreciate it. Yugi was defeated by Marik's last attack, and in a few seconds, the anchor would drag Yugi into the depths. I pulled a knife out of my pocket – which I keep around for self-defense – and ran with all the energy I could muster.

The anchor dropped and I was forced to make a diving leap. I thrust my knife between one of the anchor chain's links, burying the blade into the wood. Luckily, it wasn't a durable chain, and as the chain tightened my knife cut through, saving Yugi from a watery grave.

"Siege, you…" Yugi started to say. Then he swooned. I caught him before he collapsed. Obviously, the duel took its toll on him. I set him down and glared at Joey. His eyes were filled with pure evil.

"You stand against me?" growled Marik through Joey's voice. "That was a huge mistake!"

"What's _your_ problem? You won Slifer and the puzzle. And now you're going to duel me so I can win them back."

"I think not. Feel the wrath of the Millennium Rod!" I smiled. After a few seconds, I was perfectly fine. "That's impossible! How can you resist my control?"

"It's easy for a man…with an Egyptian God by his side. You know; the one you've been looking for?"

Marik growled. Then he grinned. "I see. Double or nothing; is that it?"

"That's right. But this time, I needn't worry about hurting a friend, because you're no longer attached to an anchor."

"Very well. I'll make you regret facing me!"

I turned back to Yugi's friends and explained, "Joey's under Marik's control. I'm going to try and defeat him and bring him back to his senses. Shizuka…please forgive me." Then I turned back to Joey. "Marik, I'll do what I must to protect them. Duel!"

4000/4000

"I set a monster and end my turn."

"Your monster's as good as gone," said Marik. "I summon Alligator Sword (1500/1200), and destroy your monster!"

"It's true, but my monster was Newdoria (1200/800), so I can destroy a monster of yours too!" And so, our fields were clear again.

"That's fine. I place two cards facedown and end my turn."

"Ok. Now, I play Injection Fairy Lily (400/1500), and attack you directly!"

4000/3600

I noticed a suspicious frown on Kaiba's face. He was probably wondering where my loyalties truly lay. Also, he probably wondered if he should reveal the truth about me. I had a feeling he wouldn't, though. If for no other reason, who among Yugi's friends would believe him?

"Take your best shot, Marik!" I challenged.

"You may regret saying that. I play Rocket Warrior (1500/1300), and activate Meteor of Destruction, which takes away 1000 of your lifepoints!"

I hated when that happened. There was nothing to be done, except brace for impact, but it still hurt a lot.

3000/3600

Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain my my chest, and I fell on all fours. _"Oh, no…not again!"_ And with that, I vomited out a pool of blood. I heard Yugi's friends call out my name. "…I just overexerted myself. Nothing to worry about."

Marik laughed at me. "You pathetic cripple! How could you even hope to battle me? You can't even stand up!"

"That's where you're wrong, Marik." Luckily, my occassional blood-vomiting fits didn't leave me helpless. Within a few seconds, I was on my feet again. "See? I'm more than able to take you on."

"Then make your next move!"

"I will. I set one card facedown, and summon Spear Dragon (1900/0). That's it."

"Truer words have never been spoken. I sacrifice Rocket Warrior to summon Jinzo (2400/1500), rendering your trap useless! Then I play Monster Reborn to bring back Rocket Warrior! Jinzo, destroy his Fairy Lily!"

"No! I activate her special effect, paying 2000 lifepoints to increase her attack by 3000 during the attack!" Jinzo was destroyed a second later.

1000/2600

Suddenly Marik started laughing. "I missed the joke," I muttered.

"It's simple, you fool! You don't have enough lifepoints to increase your monster's attack again. And once I attack it, you lose!"

"…Oops."

"ATTACK!"

I winked. "Gotcha. I may be unable to use her effect, but since Jinzo's gone, he can't stop my Magic Cylinder!"

1000/1100

Marik growled. "It doesn't matter. One more attack, and you're finished!"

"…Must it be like this?" I calmly asked. "Joey, are you really going to let your sister see you like this?"

I noticed something get through. "Shi-zu-ka?"

"Right, Joey. Your sister. Her eyes are bandaged right now, so she can't see you. But she told me something on the ride over. She can take them off, but the first thing she wants to see is her big brother dueling."

"Argh…"

"Fight Marik's control, dammit! Don't let her see you as one of Marik's puppets!"

And slowly, I felt the dark aura around him dissolve. "No, my mind slave!"

"You lose, Marik! Since you're leaving before the duel ends, it's a forfeit!"

"Nooooo!" A second later, Joey's eyes were right again. "Siege…you saved me!" Suddenly, his face was filled with shock. "What…what have I done?"

"You let Marik wear you like a cheap suit while he wrecked havoc. But don't fret; I'm going to punish you now, so watch out!"

"I…right. I end my turn!"

I looked back, and noticed Shizuka took her bandages off, revealing her beautiful copper-colored eyes. I was happy that she got her wish to see Joey duel. Still, I intended to win. "I heard you built up a nice collection of rare cards. But you'd be mistaken in thinking you're the only one who has them. I sacrifice Fairy Lily to summon _my_ Jinzo! Cyber energy shock!"

"I don't think so! Reveal Graceful Dice! A die will be rolled, and whatever comes up, my monster's attack strength will be multiplied by that amount."

I realized I was about to be handed my first loss in a long time. Normally, I would've been angry, but part of me hoped Shizuka would see her brother win. So, I accepted my fate with a shrug and a smile. "So…anything higher than a one will destroy my monster."

The die result was…a three. My monster was destroyed, along with the rest of my lifepoints.

1000/0

"Good game, Joey," I said.

**000000000**

A few minutes later, Yugi regained consciousness. Téa – for that was the girl's name – told us what happened before we met up, and I told Yugi what happened after he blacked out.

"Sorry about the mess I made on your coat," I said to Yugi. "I guess that diving leap took more out of me than I thought."

"It's ok," said Yugi. "I'll take my life over a clean shirt any day. Besides, you only stained part of it."

"The one thing I don't get, though," said Téa, "is that you mentioned Marik by name, Siege. But I don't remember him introducing himself."

I felt a chill through my veins. "No, he _didn't_ introduce himself. Well, I knew because…"

"I was tracking down Ghouls earlier," answered Kaiba. "We happened to be in the same area when a bunch of them jumped us. We beat some information out of one of the thugs, including Marik's name."

I had no idea why he was covering for me, but I decided against wasting the chance I was given. "You know, Kaiba is as tough in reality as he is in the dueling ring? I challenged him afterwards; it was a draw, but he gave me Obelisk the Tormentor anyway, as he was confident he was strong enough without it." I turned to him. "I never thanked you properly for-"

"Save it. When the finals are over, I'll end up with all three Egyptian God Cards anyway. Just enjoy it while you can." He turned to Yugi. "And that goes for you too." With that, he and Mokuba left.

"The finals…" I muttered. "Even after all that's happened, his tournament is all he can think about. And I'll bet Marik will be there too, holding a grudge and the Winged Dragon of Ra."

"I'm not scared of Marik," said Joey. "In fact, I'll be glad if he's in the finals, so I can knock him right out again!"

"_Hmm…maybe he's got a point. So what if he can win with a deck filled with traps and spells? It doesn't necessarily follow I'll lose."_ I nodded and said, "Ok, Joey. If you're not concerned, then I have nothing to worry about!"

"I dunno," said Mai. "Suddenly it looks like a case of the blind leading the gullible."

End Chapter

For years, Loki lived by a code of honor. When he saw Yugi and Joey in danger, he remembered what it meant to be a true duelist and swung a blow against Marik. But it's not over yet, for he'll certainly be back for revenge. The true battle hasn't even begun. R&R!


	5. A Rocky Path to the Finals

It just kept cycling around in my head. Why did I betray Marik? I was perfectly happy working for him as long as I got rare cards. It didn't even really matter how many people got hurt by my actions.

Yet, when I delivered Slifer the Sky Dragon to Marik, I felt Selkirk Rex breathing down my neck. "You fool!" he'd say. "You've abandoned your pride as a true duelist!" And since then, I've tossed and turned in my sleep. And I felt Ishizu's voice joining his since I met her.

But when I discovered Yugi was in trouble and I opted to help him, their nagging voices stopped ringing in my ears. In fact, I felt Sensei fill me with calming energies as I faced off against Marik as he dueled through Joey. Has he been keeping tabs on me?

"Siege?" Shizuka's voice snapped me out of my stupor.

"Speaking," I numbly replied.

"You looked a million miles away for a second," Yugi commented. "What's wrong?"

As I collected my thoughts, I vaguely remembered that after Kaiba talked about winning the finals, Joey used his locator cards to find the location. Since then, we drove there in Mai's car. We parked and started walking the rest of the way, since we couldn't go further in the car.

"…Nothing," I lied. "I was just visualizing my glorious victory. I saw myself standing over all the finalists, holding all three Egyptian God Cards. Marik begged me for mercy; I showed him none."

"Not if _I _make it to the top first," Mai challenged. "Now that I've got another shot at the finals, I'm going all the way."

"That reminds me," said Joey. "Remember back in Duelist Kingdom when you saved my butt by giving me your entry card? Why did you do that?"

"That's easy. I did it because you looked totally pathetic! …Seriously, it's because we're friends." She noticed a second later Joey was no longer listening. He was, in fact, distracted by a movie poster. "Hey, pay attention!"

"Wow, it's Jean-Claude Magnum's latest ninja movie! He totally rocks; I have to see this new movie!"

I frowned. "Who's Jean-Claude Magnum?"

"He's only one of the most popular movie ninjas of all time," replied Tristan. "Have you been living in the mountains all your life?"

"As a matter of fact, I have," I casually replied.

Before any more words can be exchanged, a stretch limo suddenly crashed through the poster, stopping in the street. "HEY!" snapped Joey. "You nearly ran me over!" His attitude completely changed when from the limo emerged Jean-Claude Magnum himself, wearing a white tuxedo. Joey ran over and offered his hand saying, "Hello, how do you do? I'm your very, very fan. I mean…"

But Magnum walked past him and over to Mai. "Mai, darling, I'm come back for you, just like you told me to!"

I raised my eyebrow. "You know this guy?"

Mai frowned. "No, I've never met him."

Magnum gasped. "You really don't remember the offer of love you made me one year ago? It was on that cruise ship, after you beat me in a duel. I asked you to marry me on the spot, but you said to ask again once I could beat you in a duel."

Mai blushed. "Oh, right. I guess it's too late to say I was joking."

Magnum pulled out a ring with a HUGE diamond. "I've come back to make good on my promise."

"I'm not interested."

"WHAT?" cried Joey. "Come on, you gotta marry Magnum! He's a movie star, and you're always craving attention. Plus, it would be great to have a friend married to a Hollywood star."

"You said you'd marry me if I could beat you at Duel Monsters," pointed out Magnum, "so let's settle it with a duel. If I win, you'll go back to Hollywood with me and marry me."

"You're not really going to duel him, are you?" asked Yugi.

"You're already in the finals," said Tristan. "Why should you duel with this guy?"

Duke muttered to us, "Remember, this guy's a kung fu expert, and it wouldn't be smart to make him mad."

"That's insignificant," I said. "The heart of a duelist is more durable than the sword of a fighter." That was a quote from Selkirk Rex himself. It didn't make a lot of sense, since he also taught me how to fight barefisted as well as with a sword.

"Yeah!" agreed Téa. "Mai can beat Magnum and still get to the finals in plenty of time."

"Yeah, you should duel him!" agreed Joey. "Just not to win."

"Fine," Mai said. "Joey, lend Magnum your Duel Disk."

"That's not necessary," said Magnum as he pulled out his own Duel Disk. "I also have five locator cards. If I win, I'll go to the finals instead of you."

"Wait a minute!" protested Yugi. "Mai, you shouldn't risk your place in the finals by dueling this guy!"

"Who said there was any risk?" snapped Mai.

All of a sudden, the streets were lit up by klieg lights. Magnum grinned. "Prepare to lose the duel and gain a husband!"

4000/4000

"First, I'll summon Ninja Commander Ikusa (700/700)! And when it's summoned to the field, his ability lets me automatically bring Ninja Soldier Katana (400/400) to the field as well! That's all for now."

Mai smirked. "Your monsters are like your movies: second-rate and not around for very long."

"Touché," he sadly replied.

"I summon Amazoness Swordswoman (1500/1600) and destroy your Ninja Soldier!"

4000/2900

Joey groaned. "Jean-Claude duels like an amateur! Not only that, he's much shorter than he looks on screen."

I shrugged. "They say the screen always adds a little weight. Apparently, it also adds the illusion of talent."

"I'm not finished yet," declared Magnum. "I summon another Ninja Commander, letting me bring out another Ninja Soldier!"

Mai scoffed. "Your dueling is just one bad sequel after another."

"Mai's really cool," said Shizuka. "I'd like to be just like her."

"Yeah, Mai's cool," said Joey, "if you think it's cool to have a loud mouth, a mean disposition, and to walk around like you're the greatest thing since cheese fries!"

"That's the pot calling the kettle black," I muttered.

"Whazzat?"

"Nothing."

"Swordswoman," yelled Mai, "take out his Ninja Commander Ikusa!"

4000/2100

"You've walked right into my trap!" exclaimed Magnum. "With Ninja Commander and Ninja Soldier in the graveyard, I only have to sacrifice one more Ninja and you'll be in real trouble! I sacrifice my Ninja Soldier to summon Ninja Master Shogun (1600/1600)! Because I summoned it, lets me bring out two more Ninjas, so I choose Ninja Commando Kabuki (700/700) and another Ninja Soldier. Plus, Kabuki lets me summon yet another Ninja, and I choose Kunoichi Ayame the Ninja Girl (300/300)!"

"Is Mai in trouble?" Shizuka asked.

"Don't worry," said Joey. "I know first-hand how good a duelist Mai is."

I nodded in agreement. "Even a duelist at half her level should be fine against Magnum."

"Shogun," yelled Magnum, "destroy her monster!"

4000/2000

"My remaining ninjas will attack directly!"

1900/2000

"I don't want to hurt you," said Magnum, "but love is a battle. I'll set a card facedown. I guess it's true what they say. Sometimes you have to…destroy the ones you love!"

"It's not over yet," stated Mai. "I summon Cyber Harpie (1800/1300) and attack your Ninja Master Shogun!"

"Not so fast! I activate my Ninja Smoke Ball, blocking your monster's attack."

"Fine. I'll set one card and end my turn."

"And now, I play Great Kite of Ninja! It removes my Ninja Master Shogun from the game, but still allows it to attack. Plus, by sacrificing one of my monsters, it lets my monster attack directly. So, I sacrifice my Ninja Soldier to attack directly with Ninja Master!"

300/2000

I frowned. "Then again, this _might _actually be trouble. Stupid ninjas. Yugi, does she have any cards in her deck that could turn this duel around?"

Yugi thought for a second. "If she plays Harpie's Feather Duster, she can destroy Magnum's magic card."

"Hey, Mai!" Joey called out. "Do you have Harpie's Feather Duster in your hand?"

"If I did, I would've used it!" she snapped.

"…What should I wear to your Hollywood wedding?"

"Don't give up so easily," I protested. "None of Magnum's ninjas can hurt her Cyber Harpie, and he can only attack directly by sacrificing monsters. She just needs to wipe them out first."

Joey nodded. "Mai, you gotta-"

"Stop," Mai interrupted. "This is an official duel, and it's against the rules to give me advice."

"Then stop wasting time and think about the final!"

"I KNOW!"

"In that case, just keep fighting, and remember: you have our support."

"I'll do just that. I play Elegant Egotist, turning my one Cyber Harpie into three! Harpies, destroy his remaining monsters!" A few seconds later, Magnum's field was clear, save for the Shogun still flying above the field. She gave a thumbs up to Joey.

"You're a goddamn boy," Magnum snarled at Joey. "You don't deserve a mature woman like Mai."

"I do too deserve Mai!" we all turned our attention to him. "I'm just being hypothetical," he explained with a nervous laugh.

"Please! I'm a big Hollywood star, while you're just a high school student. It's easy to see who's qualified."

"Hollywood this, Hollywood that; you're just a B-movie actor!"

"Didn't you say you were a big fan of him?" asked Shizuka.

"That was five minutes ago."

"Magnum, your fame and fortune is quite meaningless here," I said. "You're going to lose this duel; everything you do from now until the end just Soap Opera drama, something you should know a lot about."

"Well said," Mai complimented. "I'll set one card and end my turn."

"Soap Opera drama!" spat Magnum. "We'll see about that. I summon another Ninja Girl!"

"I activate my Grave Arm, destroying your monster, meaning your Shogun can't attack directly!"

"That won't stop me for long."

"That's what you think," she said as she drew. "Remember, your Shogun is removed from the game, which means it can't defend your lifepoints. Harpies, finish him off!" The resulting blast forced Magnum to his knees.

300/0

"I'll bet you wish you had a stunt double," I said. To my surprise, Magnum got up and started laughing. "Did you hit your head?"

"If you don't get the joke," said Magnum, "it's probably because the joke's on you."

"I think you should fire your script-writer." Then I heard something that sounded like a blast of flame. I looked up and saw the Ninja Master Shogun was still there on his kite. "What's wrong with this picture?"

"But the duel's over!" stated Joey. "The holograms should've disappeared."

"I don't think that's a hologram!" shouted Yugi.

"Welcome to the world of Hollywood special effects!" said Magnum. He leapt into his limo and drove around the block while the Shogun threw a net over Mai. As the ninja flew away with her, Joey started running after them. I quickly ran as not to lose Joey.

"Stupid ninjas!" I shrieked as I ran.

Once I arrived, I saw Joey and Magnum standing there, looking up in horror. The Shogun was flying out of control, as Mai hung from a pole extending from the side of a building. "Where's my stand in?" Magnum feebly asked.

Joey ran under Mai calling up, "Mai, just let go! I'll catch you!"

"I'm not sure about that!" she called back.

"Please, trust me!" I admit he had a lot more confidence than I did. She let go and I covered my eyes.

I heard a soft thud and opened my eyes again. Joey was on the ground in a daze, with Mai on top of her. "Well done, Joey," I said.

Magnum ran over to Mai, offering his hand. "Let me help you up."

She batted his hand away. "Get away from me, you cheap Hollywood phony!" she snapped as she stood up. "The real action hero here is resting."

"Don't waste your words on him," I said as I walked over. "I'll say one thing about ninjas; I like it when they disappear. Magnum, go disappear. And if you ever reappear, I'll make you regret it."

The others arrived as Magnum drove off in disgrace. "But Mai," said Joey as she helped him to his feet, "you could've married a movie star!"

"If I _did _get married, I wouldn't be able to kick your butt in the Battle City finals," she replied.

"Plus, you'd drive your husband crazy." With that, she dropped him.

_"Stupid __Hollywood__,"_ I thought. _"In the days of old, being a ninja was something that took patience and years of training. Thanks to people like Magnum, their efforts were trivialized. I wonder: in a hundred years, how will the average duelist of today be depicted?"_

"Siege, you're zoning out again," said Yugi. "I hope you don't do that in the finals."

I grinned. "The finals. Who will feel my fury first? Marik? Kaiba? Whoever it is, he won't be the last. Race you!"

With that, we ran to our final destination.

**000000000**

Upon our arrival at the unfinished arena, a man in a suit working for Kaiba asked us to prove we all had six locator cards. Yugi, Joey, Mai and I handed them over, and he gave us keycards for our respective rooms.

Kaiba motioned for me to talk in private, so I walked over to him. "Yes?"

"I covered for you; now tell me everything you know about the Winged Dragon of Ra."

I smirked. "I should've known. You're rarely charitable." So, I told him everything. Everything from his various effects to the incantation one has to chant to unleash its power.

Kaiba nodded. "I see. Very well, then. We're even." As I walked away he said, "By the way. You said I stole your teacher's Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Who's was it?"

"Selkirk Rex. And if we meet again in the tournament, I'll make sure to win it back." With that promise, I rejoined Yugi and his friends.

At that point, a new contender came in. He had light hair, black jeans, and a pink muscle shirt. I never saw him before, but I sensed something weird about him.

"Hey, I know you," said Joey. "You're Namu, right?"

"That's right. I've had nothing but good luck since I met you and Téa; I won every duel I played."

Joey introduced him to Yugi and me, saying that he found their friend Bakura hurt, and helped him to a hospital. "That's like how we met, isn't it?" Yugi said to me.

Suddenly, I had a bad feeling about Namu. "Yes. Funny that." I thought to myself, _"Could this Namu be a Ghoul I never met? He looks harmless enough, but that could mean absolutely nothing. He's suppressing an abnormally dark aura."_

Then we heard someone else approach. It was a white-haired boy with a bloody bandage around his arm. He wore a blue short-sleeved jacket over a striped shirt, and white pants.

"Bakura!" yelled Joey. "You should still be in the hospital!"

"I'm fine," he replied.

"You could barely walk, earlier," Tristan argued. "And since when were you in the tournament?"

"How else could I win six locator cards?" he replied.

His friends were all shocked, though I wasn't sure why. I went over and introduced myself. "You're another friend of Yugi's, eh? My name's Siege."

"Howdy." He offered his hand and I shook it. I felt my blood run cold again. This guy had also had a dark aura, the likes of which I've never seen; it trumped both Namu and Marik put together.

I quickly let go of his hand, a little afraid of him. "It's…lovely to meet you…Bakura."

And speaking of Marik, he also entered the stadium. He certainly stood out, being bigger than most of the people there; that cloak with the cowl also made him very conspicuous. By then I was so cold, I feared a hammer would shatter me.

But he walked past me as if I didn't exist. Joey and Téa recognized him too. "He's that guy who grabbed us!" exclaimed Joey.

"Identify yourself," said Kaiba.

"I am Marik."

Joey clenched his fists. "I'm gonna kick your brainwashing keister!"

"Not if I'm grouped with him first," I said. "I beat you once, Marik. If we duel again, we'll hold a repeat performance!"

"I should disqualify you for what you did to Mokuba," snarled Kaiba. "But you have something I want."

"Duelists, may I have your attention?" beckoned one of Kaiba's men. "Although your locator cards led you here…this is not the site of the battle city finals! The actual arena will be arriving any moment."

Just then, Kaiba Craft 3 flew above the arena, and landed in the center. "Everyone, get on board!" said Mokuba as a ramp extended. I made a point to be the first one on.

I had no idea how high up we'd be, but I hoped my ears wouldn't pop. I wandered to the observation lounge, taking a seat on a sofa. A little while later, the others joined me in the room. Kaiba entered and took the opportunity to insult Joey. I wasn't paying much attention – I only caught something about flying monkeys – but Joey exploded. Then Kaiba walked up to Yugi and me.

"Yugi. Siege. I know neither of you played your God Cards yet, but you'd better have them in your decks during the finals, because I intend to win them! When this tournament is over, I'll be the world's greatest duelist, and the owner of all three Egyptian God cards." Then he walked away, saying he had a tournament to run.

I stood up and said, "Attention. I know something about blimps, and I want you to listen carefully, in case of emergency." Everyone looked my way. "In the unlikely event we lose cabin pressure, Kaiba will open his big mouth and produce more than enough hot air to let us land."

That earned a few smirks, and Joey exploded in laughter. I bowed slightly, and went to the room printed on my card key. After opening it up, I saw a man sitting on one of my sofas. He wore a white robe and a turban, and had another Millennium Item hanging from his neck. "One of Ishizu's friends, I presume."

He said nothing. Instead he stood up and took the item off his neck. "I warn you, I have an anti-magic barrier," I said, showing him Obelisk the Tormentor. "If Marik couldn't penetrate it, you certainly won't."

"Yes, I sensed a distortion of magical energies," he said.

"Who are you?"

"I am Shadi, a guardian of the Millennium Items."

"Well, I see no Millennium Items in this room, other than yours. Now, please leave."

"Not just yet. Let me ask you this: what do you intend to do with the three Egyptian God Cards?"

"As long as people other than I hold God Cards, I'll never have a secure position of #1. Once I have all three of them, I'll be the unopposed champion of the world."

His Millennium Key flashed for a brief second. Then Shadi put it away and said, "Very well."

A knock on the door turned me away from him. "It's open." Téa walked in. "Hey, Téa. I was just talking to…" When I looked back, Shadi was gone. "…myself. I was saying, 'self, you need to prepare for the finals!' What's up?"

"I was wondering if I could bunk here," she said. "There aren't any rooms for guests; I don't want to bother Yugi, and Joey's room is occupied by Tristan, Duke, and Shizuka."

"So instead, you opt to bother _me_." I chuckled when I saw her frown and said, "Just messing with you. Make yourself at home."

After we made ourselves comfortable – and full, since the fridge was stocked – I said, "I'm dying to hear a story from you, Téa. Tell me about Yugi and Joey."

"Where do I start? There's a lot to talk about."

"How about you start at the beginning of the Duelist Kingdom tournament?" And so, she told me about everything she could remember: from his duel with Weevil to the final match against Joey. "Wow! It must be awesome being best friends with such a prodigy. But weren't you scared about Bandit Keith trapping you in the cave?"

"I was at first. But like I said, we wouldn't have escaped if Yugi and Joey hadn't defeated the Paradox brothers."

"Yugi must have a good sense of direction. From what you told me, it was a natural maze down there."

Téa suddenly snapped her fingers. "Oh, I knew I forgot something! We wouldn't have _found_ the brothers without Bakura."

"That was the white-haired kid from before, right? How'd he know where to find them?"

Téa hesitated for a second. "You probably don't believe in magic, do you?"

"Téa, my experiences over the past two years have made me a firm believer in magic. He has magic powers?" It certainly would explain the dark aura around him.

"Well, he used to. See, he used something called a Millennium Ring to guide us to the Paradox brothers. But according to Tristan, it turned him evil, so Tristan threw it deep into the Duelist Kingdom forest."

I sighed. "Another Millennium Item. I'm starting to get sick of those things."

"You know about the Millennium Items?"

"I know a little. I know Yugi has one, as does Pegasus, Marik, and Ishizu. Ishizu I actually met, but I know the stories of Pegasus and his ability to read minds. Those trinkets completely changed how I look at duels." An announcement played saying that the finals would soon begin, and that the duelists were to meet in the main hall. "That's my cue," I muttered. "Coming?"

"Of course! With no offense to you, Joey and Yugi are going to be there, and I wouldn't miss it for the world. But, I'll cheer for you too."

"Thanks, Téa. I can assure you with pride that one of your friends will make it to the finals. I'm betting on me, personally."

End Chapter.

Yay, we're at the Battle City finals! But with Marik on the blimp, how long will he be able to hide is former membership to the Ghouls? R&R!


	6. Necromancy Overload

When Téa and I arrived, I immediately headed for Yugi. I was drawn to the light aura he developed, like a moth to a flame. "Yugi?"

He turned. "Hello again, Siege. Good luck in the finals."

I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but there was something different about Yugi. He seemed stronger, and more mature._ "It's the Pharaoh. I'm standing in the presence of Marik's most hated enemy. He seems so strong!"_ I shook my head and said, "Don't, Yugi."

"Pardon?"

"Don't wish me luck. Luck is for people who lack the skill needed to get here. It's kind of an insult."

"Oh, ok." Yugi paused to search for his words carefully. "I hope you do well."

I grinned. "That's better. I hope you do well too. And should we get paired up, I hope for the toughest duel of our careers." With that, I walked away.

I hope I didn't come across as uppity just then. I appreciated Yugi's kind word, even if we were rivals. No; it's _because _we were rivals that I appreciated it. His sportsmanship is an inspiration. But I digress.

I stood in the corner, looking at Obelisk the Tormentor. I remembered what happened when Marik was testing copies of his Winged Dragon of Ra; all of the testers met with a tragic end, being struck by lightning.

Sure, Kaiba could use Obelisk, but he had his lineage to thank for that. I had no such roots to my knowledge. I feared that if I played Obelisk, I would be destroyed. But, Kaiba ordered me to put it in my deck, and he had every authority to kick me out if I cheated him out of my rarest card. So, I resolved not to play it if I could avoid it. I placed it in my deck, hoping with all my heart that that after I shuffled, it would wind up at the bottom.

Soon, Kaiba announced it was time to begin a drawing to determine the match-ups. Our numbers were thus:

Kaiba: 1/Siege: 2/Yugi: 3/Mai: 4/Joey: 5/Marik: 6/Bakura: 7/Odion: 8

The first ball to emerge was 7. Bakura was surprised. "Me? Duel first?" Then he started chuckling. I felt so much darkness in him it was scary. Whether Bakura was aware of his energies or not remained to be seen, but I pitied the poor soul who would face him.

And the next one was 3, which was Yugi's. As the suit led them to the Stratus dueling arena, I couldn't help but think about how unsettlingly appropriate the match-up was. Dark versus light. I followed the others up on an elevator. I was a little freaked when I realized that when my time came, I'd be dueling on a platform ten feet above the blimp, completely exposed to the cold air.

Kaiba announced, "Kaiba Craft 3 is now cruising at an altitude of four thousand feet. The current of the wind is as a sword slicing the body. The pain will add harsh conditions to the duels."

I heard a few murmurs of excitement from Tristan and Duke. I'll bet they wouldn't be so enthusiastic if they were forced to duel the same way.

"Before we begin," Yugi said to Bakura, "why don't you admit who you really are?"

Bakura laughed, and a Millennium Item appeared around his neck. Suddenly, his dark aura exploded, sending a new cold in me that was completely unrelated to the wind. "The Millennium Ring," I murmured.

"What do you hope to gain by joining the Battle City finals?" demanded Yugi. "Is it about the Millennium Items?"

"Perhaps," he replied in a voice much deeper than I remembered. "Yugi, there's much about this tournament you fail to understand. Are you sure that your closest friend isn't, in reality, your greatest enemy?"

I shrunk for a second. I have no idea how he could've known I used to be a Ghoul. But I noticed he was actually looking at…Namu? Feeling safer I yelled, "Keep your opinions to yourself, fiend!"

He glanced at me, grinning in a way that made me uncomfortable. "Or else you'll do what, you pathetic mortal?" Then he stopped paying attention to me, and the duel began.

4000/4000

"I summon Portrait's Secret (1200/1500) in attack mode," said Bakura. "I end my turn."

"I summon Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts (1500/1200)! Attack his monster!"

4000/3700

"Now I'll set one card and end my turn. Why don't you try again?"

"As you wish," replied Bakura. "I summon the Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams (1300/1800). Attack it if you dare!"

"You asked for it. Gamma the Magnet Warrior (1500/1800) in attack mode! Destroy his Gross Ghost!" A second later, Bakura was alone on the field.

4000/3500

"Gazelle, attack him directly!"

4000/2000

"Perhaps it's time I stopped going easy on you," said Bakura. "I summon the Headless Knight (1450/1700) and end my turn."

Yugi barely hesitated. "Gamma, destroy his monster!"

4000/1950

"Gazelle, attack him directly!"

4000/450

Bakura was certainly being unorthodox, having lost over three quarters his lifepoints without so much as a struggle. But with so much energy emanating from him, I was sure he had some sort of plan. You don't become so powerful by accident.

Suddenly, Bakura started cackling. "Now, your destruction begins! I hold a card in my hand with dark powers beyond imagination! But before I could play it, I needed three of my monsters to be destroyed. Now I can summon the all-powerful Dark Necrofear (2200/2800), by removing the fiend-type monsters in my graveyard from the game!"

See? There you go. Now Yugi's going to stare down one of the creepiest fiend monsters in the game.

"Dark Necrofear is one of the most destructive cards in my deck. But I'll spare you for now. Instead, I'll set two cards and end my turn."

Unorthodox indeed. With only 450 lifepoints to work with, Bakura couldn't afford to be merciful. …Right?

"You'll regret not attacking," said Yugi. "Now I sacrifice Gazelle in order to summon Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700)!"

I felt a ping as he played that card._ "How strange. What's with that card? …I must be imagining things. Perhaps it's Bakura's darkness affecting me."_

"And I reveal my facedown card: Magic Formula!"

Bakura recoiled. "No!"

"This card gives my Dark Magician girl 500 extra attack points. Dark burning attack!"

4000/150

Bakura laughed again. "You've done exactly what I wanted! Now that Dark Necrofear is in the graveyard, I can activate a magic card, Dark Sanctuary!" Suddenly, a dark mist surrounded the field and the spectators. "You have no idea what you've unleashed! This terrifying magic will keep you in a constant state of fear until it destroys you!"

"You're the one who should be afraid," Yugi shot back. "You have no monsters on the field, and only 150 life points. Gamma, attack directly!" But Gamma shuddered. Then a ghost leapt out of Gamma and attacked Yugi instead!

3250/900

"Your monster is possessed by an evil ghost," said Bakura. "Whenever a possessed monster attacks, you lose lifepoints equal to half of that monster's attack. Then, my lifepoints are raised by the same amount."

"And are all my monsters possessed?" asked Yugi.

"You'll just have to attack me and find out. But for now, it's my turn. I play Ouija Board!" An Ouija Board appeared above him. A ghostly hand moved the planchette over the letter D. Then a ghostly letter D appeared above the board.

I shivered. "Oh no. Not that card!" I remember Selkirk Rex taught me about this card on his lessons about the conditions of winning.

"What's the problem?" asked Duke.

Bakura explained to Yugi. "Ouija Board lets me receive messages from lost souls in the Shadow Realm and spell out a message for you, and the first letter is D. Each time you end your turn, another letter is revealed. After five turns, the message will be spelled out, and you'll automatically lose!"

"I'm not afraid," replied Yugi. "I'll win before the next four turns pass."

"We'll see. I activate The Dark Door. Now, each of us can only attack once per turn. Then I'll set one card and summon the Earthbound Spirit (500/2000). In order to maintain the effect of Dark Sanctuary, I must sacrifice a monster each turn, so I'll sacrifice my Earthbound Spirit and end my turn."

"Very well. I play Kuriboh (300/200) in defense mode, and attack with Dark Magician Girl!" I got a pit in my stomach as he said that. It was as if I knew in advance it was a bad idea, though I didn't know why I knew. And as if to confirm my paranoia, Dark Magician Girl shuddered, and the ghost from before leapt out and attacked Yugi again.

2000/2150

"You see," said Bakura, "at the start of a turn, I can choose which of your monsters is possessed." Yugi grumbled and ended his turn. The Ouija Board planchette pointed to E, and the letter materialized next to the D. "Only three more turns before Ouija Board spells your doom."

"But each player can only have five magic and trap cards on the field at one time. With Dark Door in play, there's no room for all five letters."

"Very observant. But Dark Sanctuary allows me to play magic and trap cards in the monster zone."

Duke groaned. "Yugi had better think of something quick."

"If only Yugi could figure out which of his monsters were possessed," said Mai, "he could launch a counterattack."

"Wait. Maybe Yugi's over-thinking it. Maybe he shouldn't think at all, like Tristan." I couldn't help but laugh, which made Tristan give us both dirty looks.

When I turned back to the duel, Bakura played Sangan (1000/600), and sacrificed it to maintain Dark Sanctuary. The effect of Sangan let Bakura bring another monster with 1500 attack points or less into his hand.

Once Yugi began he said, "I play Big Shield Gardna (100/2600) in defense mode, and attack with Gamma the Magnet Warrior!"

I understood the rationale: since Gamma was weaker, if it was possessed, Yugi would lose less lifepoints.

"Sorry, but I disagree," said Bakura. "I reveal my trap, Dark Spirit of the Silent! It stops your monster's attack, and forces your Dark Magician Girl to attack instead!" I felt the pit again, and it was much worse than last time. Dark Magician Girl shuddered, and the ghost attacked Yugi again.

750/3400

Very bad! The next turn could've proven to be Yugi's last, if he attacked with the wrong monster. Yugi set two cards and ended his turn, and the planchette revealed A.

Bakura simply sacrificed Souls of the Forgotten (900/200) to maintain Dark Sanctuary and ended his turn.

"My turn," said Yugi, "and I have a plan to get rid of your ghost. I activate Collected Power, which will focus all card effects on Kuriboh!" Bravo! That drew the ghost to Kuriboh too. "Then I play Exile of the Wicked, destroying my Kuriboh, and your ghost along with it!

"And that's not all, for I have a plan to get rid of your Dark Sanctuary. I play Monster Reborn, to resurrect Dark Necrofear! And since it's no longer in your graveyard, Dark Sanctuary is useless. That means you can no longer place spells and traps in the monster zone. Necrofear, attack directly!"

750/1200

"I end my turn."

"And I add the fourth letter!" Bakura snarled. It was a T.

"D-E-A-T," read Yugi with a smile. "The word is DEATH. But now, in order to play your final letter, you'll have to discard your Dark Door spell. And that'll allow me to attack you with everything!"

"It's over, Bakura!" I said. "This duel started as a horror movie, but has digressed into a simple campfire story."

"I'll show you…horror!" snapped Bakura as he drew. Suddenly, he started laughing again. "Yugi, this card I've drawn is the key to annihilating you once and for all! I summon Jowgen the Spiritualist (200/1300)!"

"That's bad," I said. "It lets him discard a card from his hand to destroy all special summoned monsters."

"That doesn't seem so bad," remarked Tristan.

"Idiot. Dark Necrofear is a special summon, and Jowgen can destroy it with its effect! Now do you see the picture?"

I sensed a light bulb go off in that seemingly empty head of his. "If it goes, it'll bring back that thing with the mouths and eyes again!"

A second later, Dark Necrofear disappeared, and Dark Sanctuary returned. "And since Dark Sanctuary returned," Bakura said, "the ghost returns. Furthermore, I'll be able to spell DEATH and win the duel when you end your turn. I'll set one card, sacrifice Jowgen for Dark Sanctuary, and end my turn. Now my ghost shall possess one of your monsters."

"I defeated your ghost once," snapped Yugi. "I'll do it again. All I have to do is figure out which monster you possessed."

"That won't help you. My facedown card is Dark Spirit of the Silent. So no matter which of your monsters attack, I can switch it to that one."

It seemed to be a catch 22. If Yugi attacked, he'd lose his lifepoints. If he didn't attack, Ouija Board would spell DEATH and Yugi would lose anyway. But in reality, it was a matter of drawing the right card. If the stories of him and his belief in the heart of the cards were true, he'd be able to pull off the Destiny Draw, as I have done.

His aura suddenly grew brighter. He drew his card and his aura subsided a little, but his card developed an aura of its own. _"Destiny Draw."_

Lightning erupted from the heavens as Yugi exclaimed, "I sacrifice Dark Magician Girl, Gamma the Magnet Warrior, and Big Shield Gardna to summon the almighty Slifer the Sky Dragon (X000/X000)!" The shroud that was Dark Sanctuary disappeared, and towering above us, coiled around Kaiba Craft 3 was the second Egyptian God Card.

I hadn't seen it for a year, but it was just as glamorous then as it was when I snatched it from its hiding spot, but seeing it in its true form made me realize the true extent of the Pharaoh's power. If I wanted any chance of winning Slifer or Ra, I knew I'd have to get over my fear of Obelisk.

And, for the first time since the duel began, I saw a look of fear in Bakura's eyes. "Yugi, your Egyptian God is powerful, but it does not guarantee your victory!"

"I'm afraid it's over!" said Yugi. That was an understatement. Slifer's attack and defense points are determined by how many cards are in the owner's hand. With the three cards in Yugi's hand, Slifer had 3000 points. With Bakura having only 1200 lifepoints and a useless trap on the field, he was stuck. "Slifer, attack with-" then he froze. I sensed it too. We turned to the elevator, and saw Marik standing there with the Millennium Rod.

"Listen carefully, Pharaoh," said Marik. "Bakura is now under control of the Millennium Rod, and I'll use it to release him from the control of the spirit of the Millennium Ring."

A second later, Bakura's dark aura lessened, and he fell to his knees. "What…how did I get here?" He asked in a lighter voice.

"You may want to reconsider your attack," continued Marik. "Without the spirit of the Ring, Bakura is weak, and Slifer's attack could really damage him. And we wouldn't want that, would we?"

"Damn you, Marik!" I snapped. "Have you no decency? No honor?"

"He's right," agreed Yugi. "Only a coward would do something like this to win a duel!"

Marik simply left, saying nothing.

"Yugi," moaned Bakura, "I don't feel so well…" Seconds ago, all the fiends Bakura summoned gave him the stench of the underworld. Now, he looked as sickly as any one of his monsters.

"Bakura!"

Yugi started to run towards him, but the judge said, "Stop! You'll forfeit the duel if you touch your opponent. Now, make your move, or you'll be disqualified."

Joey started to climb onto the arena. "You gotta stop this duel! Can't you see Bakura needs help?"

"Get down," ordered the judge, "or you'll be disqualified too!"

I pulled him off the platform. "Focus, Wheeler. Don't throw the finals." This was grave situation. If Yugi attacked, Bakura could get killed. If he didn't, Ouija Board would finish him.

Suddenly, the dark aura flickered to life again, and Bakura stood as strong as ever, with the grin that made my blood freeze. "I'm back. I admit I lost this time. Go ahead and attack. Don't worry; I won't let your friend Bakura die."

It was a once-in-a-lifetime shot, and Yugi took it. "Thunder force!"

As light from Slifer's attack filled the arena, I saw a glint in the corner of my eye, which I could've sworn was the Millennium Ring. The light ended and Bakura lay on the ground, weak but conscious.

750/0

Not wasting time, the others climbed onto the platform to help Bakura. Tristan carried him back to the room, along with the others. As Yugi and I walked away, the announcer said, "According to Battle City rules, you're entitled to your opponent's rarest card."

The aura around Yugi dissipated slightly and he said, "He's been through enough." With that, we reentered the ship.

As we walked I asked Yugi, "Why do you suppose the dark spirit took over in the end, when he knew he could force your hand?"

"I suppose he didn't want to risk Bakura getting hurt," answered Yugi. "Like the spirit in my puzzle, he needs a body to survive."

"And here I thought it was sympathy for his host. My mistake." I bowed and said, "Do pardon me, Yugi. I'd like to check on your friend, but I have a duel to prepare for. Please understand."

"Sure thing."

After that, I headed to my room and exhaled, sinking to the floor. I fished the pendant with my sensei's Fusilier Dragon out of my shirt and stared at the card. _"Selkirk Rex…how would you have dealt with that situation, considering the spirit didn't save Bakura?"_

He appeared next to me, astral projected. **_"That's a difficult question, indeed. I used to tell you the ultimate test of character was how you respond to losses. But sometimes, it's the willingness to lose to save someone."_**

I nodded_. "That's a valid point, sensei. Maybe I knew that already; I just needed you to remind me."_

"**_In the end, we're only human."_** Then he frowned. **_"You're worried about something. Could it be a duel with Marik?"_**

"_Yes. He needs to learn a lesson about honor and respect. But I can't say for sure that I'm the one most qualified to give it to him."_

He sighed and shook his head. **_"Loki…do you really doubt your abilities that much? If you do, I fear I've wasted my time with you."_**

I shot up. _"Sensei!"_

"**_I taught you Duel Monsters because I wanted you to surpass me. And having surpassed me, I want you to teach another who will surpass you. And the cycle repeats so that one day, a Selkirk Rex will be the number one duelist. That's my plan for the Selkirk Rex legacy." _**He looked me straight in the eye. **_"Tell me the truth. Will you break the chain?"_**

"_No, Sensei."_

"**_Repeat, and say it louder this time!"_**

"_No, Sensei Selkirk Rex! I will gain the power to defeat you, and teach one to take my place! And I won't let Marik stand in my way!"_

To my surprise, he smiled warmly. **_"I know. Good luck; I'll always be in your corner."_** Then he disappeared. He was the only person I didn't mind wishing me luck.

Satisfied, I decided to head to the main hall and await the next match-up. I opened the door and froze. "Ishi-" Before I could finish my thought, the Millennium Necklace flashed and I found myself alone, falling down a corridor of light. Or maybe I was rising. I couldn't quite tell which direction I was heading. When I emerged from the portal, I found myself in ancient Egypt. "Another fine mess I've gotten myself into."

With nothing to do, I decided to wander the town. Nobody seemed to notice me, and for a while I wondered if I was even visible. "What is this vision supposed to mean?" Then I bumped into someone. "Oh, sorry."

"It's ok," she said, as she knelt down to pick up what she dropped. I knelt down and helped. "Thanks. My name's Mana."

"Hi. I'm Siege."

I helped her up and she said, "It's weird. It feels as if we've met before."

"Actually…I thought the same. Déjà vu, perhaps?" She looked a lot like the Dark Magician Girl to me. But those eyes of hers made me think I knew her.

Suddenly, everything froze; even Mana. I was the only one who remained mobile. "Mana?" I snapped my fingers in front of her face, but got no reaction. "Ishizu…what are you trying to tell me?"

Ishizu appeared behind me. "This is Mana, one of your ancestors."

"Why does she look like the Dark Magician Girl?" I asked.

"Actually, the Dark Magician Girl looks like _her_. When a great evil took over the kingdom, she created the Dark Magician Girl to help defend the Pharaoh."

"Incredible! I've learned the origin of one of Yugi's favorite monsters. And now, I even know _why_ it's his favorite." But the point I think Ishizu was trying to get across was that my origins lay in ancient Egypt, with the Pharaoh's closest friend. It meant I could summon Obelisk the Tormentor without fear of severe repercussions.

Suddenly, I found myself back in my room, standing alone. The announcer said the next round of the Battle City finals was about to begin, and that the duelists were to report to the main hall. "Dark Magician Girl…Mana…heart of the cards…with so much support, I can't possibly lose." With that, I ran to the main hall.

End Chapter

Loki's shares blood with the woman who created the Dark Magician Girl? How is _that _for a plot twist? Stay tuned for more twists. And while you wait for the next update, R&R!


	7. Fury of the Tombkeepers

I watched the balls dance around in the selection machine, getting a little dizzy. I remember I heard Tristan make a bingo reference earlier, and was half-tempted to shout "bingo" myself. The announcer said, "The first participant will be…duelist #2: Siege!"

I pumped my fist. "It's time to strike fear into all spectators. But whose butt will I kick first?"

"The second will be…duelist #8: Marik!"

_"Already?" _I kind of hoped Yugi would take him on next. Of course, I wouldn't let _him _know that. I spun and looked Marik straight in the eye. "If only you knew how honored I am…to be the one who puts an end to your evil!"

"Yeah!" cheered Joey. "Let 'im have it, Siege! And give him one for me!"

"He wounded all of us, one way or another. He'll receive a blow for each one of us; promise."

Once we were led to the arena, I realized what Kaiba said about the slicing wind current was true. But I had more important things to focus on. The announcer told us to cut and shuffle each other's decks. It was kind of intimidating, being a mere foot away from Marik. I was never that close. I shuffled quickly, and we returned to our respective corners.

To my surprise, Marik brought out the Millennium Rod. I involuntarily flinched, but quickly remembered he couldn't hurt me with it. Allowing myself to relax a little I said, "Now Marik, you know as long as I hold Obelisk the Tormentor, your mind games won't work on me. So put that toy away."

"Very well," he said, slipping it back into his belt. "It's time to duel…and destroy you!"

4000/4000

"If I'm doomed," I retorted, "then you won't mind if I take the first turn so I can brace myself. I play Amazoness Swordswoman (1500/1600) in attack mode, and set one card. Go ahead."

"I activate Cathedral of Nobles, which allows me to activate certain trap cards on the turn I set them. Then I activate Embodiment of Apophis, and set two cards. That ends my turn."

_"Let's see. His Embodiment of Apophis puts a monster with 1600 attack points on the field. He could've attacked my monster, but he didn't. That means he's probably up to something."_ Out loud, I said, "I draw, and activate Heavy Storm, blowing your spell and traps away!"

"Amateur. I reveal Judgment of Anubis, which negates your spell, destroys your monster, and takes away lifepoints equal to your monster's attack!"

2500/4000

"Ok, that was stupid of me," I admitted. "Now, I summon Luster Dragon (1900/1600), and destroy your Apophis monster!"

2500/3700

"That was for Joey, by the way. Make your next move."

"I activate Ring of Destruction, and chain it with Ring of Defense! Now, you'll lose a monster and take damage equal to your monster's attack."

"Wrong. This one's for Shizuka: Barrel behind the Door! It negates the damage to me, and gives it to you instead!"

2500/1800

"I see," said Marik. "Good move. But now you're defenseless! I activate another Embodiment of Apophis, and attack you directly!"

"I think not. I use Kuriboh's special effect, discarding it from my hand to make the damage zero!"

"In that case, I'll activate Solemn Wishes and end my turn."

_"Solemn Wishes gives Marik 500 lifepoints during his draw phase. Like I need him getting stronger."_ "I'll simply set a monster, set one card, and end my turn."

"I draw, and regain 500 lifepoints thanks to Solemn Wishes."

2500/2300

"I activate Card of Sanctity, requiring both of us to draw until we have six cards in our hands. I'll switch Apophis to defense mode, set one card, and end my turn."

"Ok. I activate End of the World, discarding one level 8 monster to summon-"

"You've activated my trap, Solemn Judgment! By paying half my lifepoints, I can negate your last action!"

2500/1150

I grinned. "Now you've fallen into _my _trap. I wanted you waste your trap, you see. That way, it would make room for this! I activate Premature Burial and bring back the monster I discarded for End of the World. Say hello to Guardian Angel Joan!"

1700/1150

Marik snarled. "Impressive."

"This is for Téa and Mai! I destroy your Apophis! And the sum of your monster's attack is added to my lifepoints!"

3300/1150

"This doesn't look good for you, Marik. I end my turn."

"Let's see if your attitude remains the same after my move. First, I gain from Solemn Wishes."

3300/1650

"Next, I play Change of Heart, letting me control your monster. Finally, I sacrifice your Monster to play Mystical Beast Serket (2500/2000)! Serket, destroy his defensive monster!"

"For Tristan and Duke: Sakuretsu Armor, which instantly destroys your monster!"

"But not for long, for I activate Call of the Haunted, bringing my monster back! Serket, destroy his defensive monster!"

Curse him for being so prepared. I couldn't do a lot, other than watch his monster eat my Tsukuyomi. I heard a few of the specators wretching at the sight. Suddenly, his monster grew a little. "What's up with your monster, Marik?"

"It gains 500 attack points each time it destroys a monster. Now, make your next move."

It was obvious; I needed a very powerful card to combat that thing. _"Heart of the cards, heed my cry!"_ I drew. I looked at my card and smiled. "Prepare to feel the wrath of an Egyptian God."

"Impossible! You can't sacrifice anything to summon a monster!"

"True. But I recently added a new card to my deck. A building of my own; Mausoleum of the Emperor, which lets me summon monsters without tribute, as long as I pay 1000 lifepoints for each monster I'd normally need to sacrifice. So I pay 3000 lifepoints…"

300/1650

"…in order to bring forth Obelisk the Tormentor!" The monster was much bigger than I remembered it. I was glad it was on my side. "Plus, since I placed a new field card, your Cathedral of Nobles is destroyed. And consequently, so is your Mystical Beast Serket!"

I stood in silence for a brief second, letting it all sink in. _"I actually did it! I simply need to declare my attack, and I'll have saved the world!…Enough __savoring; time for the finish."_ Clearing my throat I said, "For Yugi and Mokuba…and for everyone else you hurt…Obelisk, fist of fate!"

300/0

"For all your boasting, and all your power, you're nothing against a true duelist!"

The judge raised his arm. "This match is over! The winner is Siege!"

My opponent fell to his knees. "The gods have forsaken me…Master Marik…"

I raised my eyebrow. "Excuse me?" Suddenly, storm clouds gathered. "What's this?" Suddenly, a beam of energy struck my opponent, knocking him to the ground.

"The Winged Dragon of Ra is angry," said Yugi. "He wasn't the rightful owner, and yet he had it in his deck."

Namu grinned. "Very astute of you, Yugi."

Then it all came together. As scary as my opponent looked, his tainted aura actually leaned on the light side. Namu, on the other hand, was quite dark, though he tried to hide it. He was probably the reason my opponent's aura was tainted. He fooled everyone; even his allies. "Namu…YOU'RE Marik Ishtar?"

"Correct," he said, pulling out the real Millennium Rod. "He is but another of my loyal puppets. I thought he'd be able to control Ra, but the real Ra was angry that a counterfeit was played."

"You scum."

"You're certainly one to talk, traitor!" he shot back.

"What are you talking about?" demanded Téa.

_"Oh, damn. Marik's going to blab! I guess it's better they hear it from me." _I sighed. "He's saying that before I met you guys, I used to be a Ghoul. I served Marik for two years. I handed him Slifer the Sky Dragon myself, and I nearly gave him Obelisk. He even wanted me to befriend you so I could scout potential mind slaves for him. Even though I quit, I can't justify my actions in any way."

"That's beyond dirty!" snapped Joey.

"Say what you will," said Marik. "The long years I had raged and cursed the world; the pain carved into my body, my very being; could you even begin to understand? Finally, I shall obtain all the god cards. And I will get my revenge on you and the world!"

"You'll do no such thing!" I protested. "It's two God Cards against yours. You're outnumbered."

"Siege…" groaned my opponent. I ran over to him, supporting his head. "I'm sorry…Siege. It was…an honor…to duel you."

"Likewise. But please, tell me who you really are."

"I am Odion…a servant…of Marik." Marik froze, clutching his head in pain. "I was…afraid of this. Beware…the great evil hidden…within Marik! I'm no longer…able to…contain it." Then he passed out in my arms.

I looked over at Marik, and I saw the Eye of Anubis appear on his head. The first time I noticed his darkness, it was scary enough. And now, it was pulsating; a monster, about to break free!

Once the aura grew as big as it would, Marik spoke in a distorted voice. "Now I'm free, and I'll do things his way. I'm the true Marik, and I'll finish the job my weaker self couldn't. Soon I'll have your Puzzle, and you and your friends will be trapped in the Shadow Realm forever!"

The aura was just so big and dark. It was like a black hole appeared, ready to suck up all light. I passed out in fear.

**000000000**

As I was out, I dreamt Selkirk Rex was once again by my side, laughing hysterically. _**"So you were being misled from the start? That's just so sad I can't help but smile."**  
_

_"Yeah, laugh it up, Sensei. Not only did I not defeat Marik, but now that Odion is unconscious, Marik has gained unimaginable power."  
_

_**"Do you once again doubt your skills?"**  
_

_"Not really, no. Now that I know Obelisk the Tormentor won't harm me if I play him, all I have to do is overcome the giant turkey flambé of death. Piece of cake."_

When I woke up, I was in my own bed, with Shizuka standing over me. "Hey, you're awake!"

I slowly sat up. "Yeah. How long was I out?"

"You slept though the last two duels."

"I don't suppose Marik was defeated, was he?"

She sadly shook her head. "Mai was sent to the Shadow Realm. And Joey lost to Kaiba."

"I'm very sorry, Shizuka."

"It's not your fault. None of us even care that you were a Ghoul. You saved Yugi and my brother from Marik's trap, and that makes you our friend."

_"I could've stopped Marik from hurting them several times. They're not even angry at me because I didn't? That's…" _A tear fell from my eye. "That makes me so happy, you have no idea," I said as I wiped it from my eye. "Where are the others?"

"Tristan and Duke are with Joey in his room, and Yugi's alone in his room. I'm not sure where Téa is."

I stood up. "Thanks a lot. Yugi's in room three, right? I need to speak with him."

"Will you be ok?"

"I'm stronger than I look," I replied with a wink. "I'll be fine." I left my room and knocked on Yugi's door. "Yugi, I need a moment of your time."

Yugi opened the door. "Siege? What's wrong?"

"I have to speak to you about Marik. This is vital." Once we sat down I said, "I'm sure you know we're the only ones who can hope to defeat Marik, since we're the only ones with monsters able to take him on. I've obtained information about the pairings in the finals; it'll be a four-way duel between the finalists, and the first two to lose are the first to duel. The other two duel second."

Yugi frowned. "Why are you telling me this?

"Because I think we can agree that only a person holding Obelisk and Slifer can hope to defeat Ra. One of us has to win it from the other, so whoever between us wins is prepared for Marik. I normally don't like conspiring with a rival before a duel begins, but the fate of the world depends on one of us taking Marik down."

Yugi nodded. "I understand your concern. I'll think about your words."

"Thanks. Good night." With that, I ran out and over to Kaiba's room. "Kaiba, open up," I said, after knocking on his door.

He opened the door, but he didn't seem pleased to see me. Then again, I don't think I've ever seen a smile on his face. "What is it, geek?"

"I want to speak to you about Marik."

"I'll tell you what I told that idiot Wheeler; if you want him out of the tournament, you have to be skilled enough to defeat him in a duel."

"That's quite the wrong impression! I want to duel him as much as you do. May I come in?"

Kaiba said nothing for a short time. His expression remained unchanged, but I had the feeling he was mulling over my proposition. "…Get in," he demanded, stepping to the side.

I walked in, but I didn't sit down. "It occurs to me that a duelist with the Winged Dragon of Ra trumps almost all other duelists. If one were to, say, acquire a God Card before a fight with him, he'd almost be on equal footing with him. The problem is this: if one took the time to get another God Card, his next opponent would hold Ra and another God Card. A man with that advantage is almost guaranteed to win the third."

Kaiba raised his eyebrow. "Are you trying to convince me to duel Marik first?"

I shrugged. "Think of the alternatives. If you face Yugi and take Slifer, you'll face either me or Marik in the finals. Either way, your opponent would have Ra and Obelisk, to face your Slifer. It'd be embarrassing for a man of your position, having reclaimed your world champion status, only to have it taken from you again. In my mind, your best shot of reclaiming the world champion title is to take Marik's Winged Dragon of Ra, and use it to crush the remaining two."

"And why, exactly, would you care if I regain my title?" inquired Kaiba. "I thought you hated me."

"I do, and with ever fiber of my being. But I'm driven by the desire to experience difficult duels. I can just imagine the ultimate duel. In this corner," I said, pointing to Kaiba, "Seto Kaiba, with the only three Blue Eyes White Dragons in existence, along with the Winged Dragon of Ra! And in the opposite corner is Yugi Moto, the only one who defeated Pegasus, and his two God Cards! When one has the chance to become the new King of Games, one doesn't want an anticlimactic duel. Right?"

That said, I strolled past him and to the door. I was halfway through when I added, "Just a little food for thought," and then I was gone.

Alone in the hall, Sensei appeared before me again. _**"Have you abandoned all hope of beating Yugi?" **_he asked.

_"Kaiba was easy to manipulate, with his fragile ego,"_ I explained. _"The thought of a grand duel with Yugi is enough to make him focus on Marik to ensure it. It's just a ruse to ensure that I'll get a chance to prepare with Yugi."_

**_"I should've realized as such. You know well enough that Kaiba stands no chance against the Winged Dragon of Ra. In the end, you're just sacrificing him like a pawn."_**

_"You make it sound so negative. But what you're failing to take into account is that if I don't, Marik will undoubtedly win all three cards, and plunge the world into darkness."_

A chill ran up my spine when I heard a familiar voice say, "That sounds ideal."

I spun around in surprised. "Ba…Ba…Bakura!" It wasn't the nice one, either. The Millennium Ring had returned, as did his darkness. I regained my composure and said, "You no longer frighten me, Bakura."

"Is that so? Perhaps you've lost all sense, mortal. If I sent you to the shadows, you wouldn't be my first victim." Bakura smiled. "Luckily for you, you're not who I'm after. Someone has persuaded me to face Marik." I was about to ask who, but I saw it. Next to Bakura stood a spirit made of what was left of the good within Marik. "Would you kindly direct me to room number 8?"

"…It's this way." And so I led them to Odion's room. To my surprise, it was already open. "What?"

"You're dismissed, mortal. I predict things are going to get a little messy."

I needed no further persuasion. If Bakura decided to be merciful, who was I to push my luck? I dashed to my room and dove into bed. Hoping against hope, I thought perhaps if I went to sleep, everything would be back to normal when I woke up.

I soon learned a lesson. As long as I hang with Yugi and his friends, nothing will be normal.

End Chapter

Loki has no idea how true that statement is. He'll find out in the next chapter.


	8. A New Threat Appears!

Before my alarm clock went off, I was awakened when something rocked the ship. I almost fell out of bed. Regaining my senses, I hopped out of bed, equipped my Duel Disk, and shot off towards the cockpit. As I ran, I stumbled a few times as more strong vibrations shook the ground beneath me.

I was soon joined by the gang as I ran. We nodded hello to each other, but didn't waste our breath with words.

When we finally arrived, Kaiba and Mokuba were standing there, barking orders to the pilot. "I can't switch off the auto-pilot or access Alcatraz's computer," said the pilot as he fumbled with the controls.

We looked forward and saw a desolate island, filled with lots of scrap metal with a skyscraper. "What's that island?" asked Tristan before I got the chance.

"It's our destination, Alcatraz," said Kaiba. "That sorrowful wreck is the symbol of the body of Gozaburo Kaiba."

Mokuba nodded. "Our adopted father wanted to conquer the world, and that artificial island is a relic of the dream. Seto took over after Gozaburo died."

I raised my eyebrow. "I didn't know you two were adopted."

"That's enough, Mokuba," said Kaiba.

"SIR!" exclaimed the pilot. "Someone has hacked into the computer and changed the destination coordinates!"

"Block the hacker quickly!" demanded Mokuba. "We have to land on Alcatraz."

Before he could respond, the ship jerked and headed at an angle towards the ocean. Bracing myself in the doorframe, I was able to stay still when we hit the surface. The others were tossed about. "Do something, Kaiba!" snapped Joey.

Then the view screen dissolved in static and a creepy high-pitched voice said, "Welcome, duelists: especially you, Seto." Then the face of a young, green-haired boy appeared on screen.

"That guy seems to know you, Kaiba," remarked Yugi. Mokuba was silent, but it almost looked like he recognized the boy.

"Identify yourself!" demanded Kaiba.

"You're always so bossy," sneered the boy. "My name's Noah, and I was born to be superior to you."

"How dare you joke with me!?"

"Please, everyone, be my guests," he said, ignoring Seto's – I mean, Kaiba's – outburst. The screen changed, and we saw we were heading towards a landing platform that was rising out of the ocean. A hold opened up, and we started to land inside.

I thought to myself, _"First Marik, now this Noah kid. Yugi's fun to hang with, but I'd better make a point to visit him on a normal day. That is, if he has a normal day."_

We landed, and Noah reappeared. "Now, Seto, it's time for you and your friends to exit the ship." To illustrate his point, several gun turrets surrounded the ship, several of which were in plain sight outside the cockpit.

"I don't think so," said Kaiba. "I'm coming out alone."

"Are you sure?" Suddenly the guns opened fire. I hit the deck along with the others. After a few seconds, the guns stopped. "Let's try this again, shall we? Everybody out!"

As per Noah's instructions, the landing ramp was lowered and we piled out; me, Yugi, Kaiba, Mokuba, Téa, Joey, Shizuka, Tristan, and Duke. Noah didn't seem aware of the other duelists, but he insisted that Kaiba's men stay on board. "This invitation is for duelists only," he explained.

"What do you want with us?" asked Yugi.

"All will be made clear in time. Now, kindly proceed through the door and down the corridor, where my companions will greet you. And they're particularly eager to meet _you_, Seto."

We did as we were told. As we walked, I headed over to Shizuka and whispered, "This is dangerous. Stay close to me." She nodded, not looking at me. At the end, we found ourselves in a huge room. The doors closed behind us, and a bright light came on, backlighting five men in suits.

"It…can't be!" exclaimed Kaiba.

I looked at the old guys and frowned. "They don't look so scary."

"Yeah," said Joey, "but there's something familiar about them."

"It's the Big Five!" exclaimed Mokuba. "Kaiba's former board of directors: Gansley, Crump, Johnson, Nesbitt, and Lector. Those are the guys who tried to take over Kaiba Corp by trapping Seto in his VR game!"

I sighed. "It looks like I missed out on something fun."

"After they lost the game," Mokuba continued, "they were trapped in the VR world instead of Seto."

"We wandered cyberspace for what seemed like an eternity," said Gansley, "until Noah hacked into the Kaiba Corp mainframe."

"We discovered we had a common enemy in you, Kaiba," said Johnson.

"And we hate your little friends too," said Crump, "because they helped you."

Kaiba growled, "I defeated you five once, and I'll do it again."

"You'll have your chance," said Gansley. "With Noah's help, we've devised a new game. It's a virtual Duel Monsters tournament, and all of you will participate."

"Why do you want to duel us?" asked Yugi.

"Our minds have been trapped in the virtual world for so long, we've lost our bodies," explained Crump.

"But if we defeat you and your friends," added Johnson, "we'll take over your bodies and return to the real world."

"We'd like to just steal your bodies, but we can't disobey Noah, and he requires us to duel fairly for them."

"No one's taking over my body again!" snapped Joey.

"Nor mine," I chimed in. "My body is a temple…with a sign that says 'keep out.'"

"Enough talk," said Gansley. "It's time to pay a visit to the dueling arena."

Before I could fully comprehend was happening, I felt my nerves blazing. I feared my vision was going all wonky, because all I saw were swirling colors. Then, as quickly as it started, I was back to normal. Well, except we were all standing in the middle of a jungle, sans the Big Five.

"This is all just one big virtual projection," said Kaiba.

"It seems pretty real to me," said Duke. And I felt compelled to agree.

We heard a loud grumble in the distance. "I don't like the sound of this," said Mokuba. Then a Tyrannosaurus appeared in front of us!

I don't understand why I wasn't afraid at all. For some reason, my only thought was, _"I never _did_ get around to dueling Rex Raptor back in _ _Battle __City__."_

The others started running, but Kaiba stayed perfectly still. I decided he knew everything about holographic technology; if he wasn't afraid of the dinosaur, I shouldn't be either. Besides, if I turned out to be wrong, I wouldn't mind seeing Kaiba get torn apart by a dinosaur.

Don't give me that look. If you spent five minutes in conversation with him, you'd think the same.

As it turned out, it was just a hologram, which was proven when the dinosaur's claws harmlessly passed through Kaiba. "Noah can't intimidate me. I was writing better virtual reality programs when that kid was still in diapers."

I heard Téa scream, and I spun around. "What's wrong?" She scurried backwards away from a holographic copy of Kaiba. "I see what you mean. One Seto Kaiba is bad enough. But two?" I glanced over at Kaiba, to see his reaction. He simply shrugged.

The Kaiba copy walked out in the middle of the field. Then a creature resembling Total Defense Shogun stepped out as well. Then I heard Gansley say, "It's time to demonstrate the new rules of our tournament: the Deck Master system. So you'd better pay attention. Before a duel begins, each duelist selects one monster in their deck to be their Deck Master. Virtual Kaiba's will be Blue Eyes White Dragon, and while Total Defense Shogun will act as his own Deck Master."

4000/4000

Copy Kaiba said, "I summon Lord of Dragons (1200/1100). Then I play Flute of Summoning Dragon, allowing me to summon two Blue-Eyes White Dragons (3000/2500) to the field. Then I move my Deck Master onto the field, giving me three Blue-Eyes White Dragons."

"_So,"_ I thought, _"my Deck Master stays by my side until I feel like calling it to the field."_

"Then," said Copy Kaiba, "I play Polymerization to fuse my monsters into Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon (4500/3800)!"

Then Gansley said, "As you can see, virtual Kaiba fused his monsters with his Deck Master, creating a stronger Deck Master. And thanks to his Deck Master ability, this fused monster can attack immediately."

"Blue Eyes, neutron blast attack!"

"However, Total Defense Shogun has its own special ability: Total Defense Barrier. It reflects the attack right back!" The Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon was destroyed, and copy Kaiba disappeared.

0/4000

"And that's how we'll defeat you. You see, if a player's Deck Master is destroyed, the player automatically loses the duel, regardless of lifepoints. And when one of you loses a duel, one of us will take over your body."

"_Strategy from here on out,"_ I thought. _"My Deck Master and I aren't simply bound by the heart of the cards anymore; if one of us loses, we both lose."_

The virtual world disappeared around us, and we found ourselves back in the room with the Big Five. "You're trapped," said Johnson, "and the only way to escape is to beat us in a duel!"

"If we stick together, there's no way these guys can win!" said Yugi.

I nodded. "He's right. All for one, and all that."

"But wait!" exclaimed Téa. "They never actually said which of us will be dueling."

"You _all_ will," said Gansley. "The first five to lose will give up their bodies, and their minds will remain trapped for all eternity!"

"I calculate your odds of survival are zero percent," said Crump. "In other words, you don't stand a chance."

"Well put, Crump. It won't be long before we're freed from our virtual prison."

"Wishful thinking, gentlemen," I snarled. "But I doubt there's a lot of power behind your words."

"Yeah," said Joey. "You five are going down!"

Gansley grinned. "Did you say 'down'?"

End Chapter

Oh noes! The gang is taking a break from Marik, only to be placed in more danger! R&R.


	9. Corporate Strategy

"Ugh."

Admittedly, it's not the most intelligent phrase I've come up with. Before rising to my feet, I took a moment to observe my surroundings, and was quite surprised. I remembered being in a metal room with the spirits of "The Big Five," or so Mokuba called them. Then the ground opened up under me, and I fell down a long way.

Which begs the question; why was I now beside a lake in a forest? Where was my deck? Where was everyone else?

I shot up and started calling out. "Yugi? Téa? Shizuka? Kaiba?" I couldn't believe I was calling out to Kaiba, but I was feeling a little desperate. Traveling with the Ghouls for two years took me to crowded places, where it wasn't unusual to see five people wherever I turned. So when I see none, I'm bound to panic a little.

"Siege?"

I spun around and saw Yugi lying on the ground, slowing rising to his feet. "Yugi! I'm glad you're alright. Where do you think the others are?"

Yugi sighed. "I was hoping _you_ could tell _me_. Have you at least figured out where we are?"

I thought for a moment. "…I guess we're in the virtual world. It's not a bad bit of scenery, but I'll feel better once we escape."

Suddenly, a grumpy old voice said, "That's assuming you can!" We turned to the source of the sound, which seemed to be the lake. A second later, a figure started to levitate out of the water. I wonder if Yugi was as surprised as I was to discover the person talking was the Deep Sea Warrior.

"Who are you?" asked Yugi.

"That's Gansley, I think," I answered. I recognized the voice.

"Correct," replied the disgusting reptile (with all due respect to the Deep Sea Warrior!) "As a loyal employee of Kaiba Corp, I oversaw the mergers and acquisitions of many companies. As you can see, my Deck Master is Deep Sea Warrior (1600/1800)."

"That's weird," said Yugi. "You're your own Deck Master?"

"That's right. It's your fault we lost our bodies."

Yugi's aura changed, making it plainly obvious - to me, anyway - that the Pharaoh was out. "Enough! You won't succeed with your plan."

"Ah, you're the Type-B Yugi, aren't you?"

Yugi and I both snapped to attention. "What did you say?" demanded Yugi.

"I know there are two Yugis. It's essential to do research before a duel. 'You know all, you win all.'" A series of card images appeared in front of Yugi. "Now, you must choose your cards. Simply touch the card images to add them to your deck."

After Yugi finished making his deck, Gansley said, "Now choose your Deck Master. Each monster card has its own special Deck Master abilities, but I won't tell you what they are; you'll have to figure that out yourself."

"_Yeah, _that's _fair,"_ I grudgingly thought._ "Well, at least this one has the guts to face a worthy duelist. But can the same be said for the other four? Kaiba shouldn't be in too much trouble. Joey and Duke can fend for themselves. But Téa barely has any experience, Mokuba stinks as a duelist, and Tristan and Shizuka haven't even officially dueled before. Four vulnerable targets; four evil duelists. And then there's that little runt, Noah; who knows what he'll do?"_

Yugi looked like he was about to choose a card, but he seemed shocked when Kuriboh (300/200) appeared in front of him. "That's an interesting choice," said Gansley.

"Wait, I didn't choose him!" Yugi protested.

"Sorry, but once a Deck Master has been chosen, it can't be changed."

"Great," he mumbled. Kuriboh squeaked something. "You're saying 'Count on me'? ...Okay, I'll believe you, then."

"Then let's get down to business!" declared Gansley.

4000/4000

"I'll start by playing a monster in defense mode. I end my turn, but this is just the first step."

"I summon Obnoxious Celtic Guardian (1400/1200)! Then I'll place one card facedown and attack your monster!" I allowed myself the luxury of a smile as I saw Gansley's card break.

"_At least Yugi's on top of things, as usual_." And that thought was so fresh in my mind that I almost failed to notice that Yugi attacked Ashinigrai (600/800). _"When it's flipped and destroyed, Yugi must discard a card from his hand. Then, Gansley gets another Ashinigrai."_

"If you'd have done your research," sneered Gansley, "You could have avoided this embarrassing loss."

"I have plenty more cards," replied Yugi as he discarded. "I end my turn for now."

Gansley drew. "You know, a Renaissance Italian political thinker determined there are three conditions for success. First, seize the chance. I summon Ipiria (500/600), which allows me to draw another card. Then, I flip Ashinigrai to increase my workforce. Which leads me to the second condition for success: use your abilities. By switching Ashinigrai to attack mode, you're required to discard another card. I'll tell you the third secret later, but it's your turn for now."

By this point, I began to doubt Gansley's determination. Any lower-tier duelist knows that keeping a pair of weak monsters in attack mode without any means of support is a death wish. And since Yugi already had a monster that was stronger than both of Gansley's, it was as if he wanted an attack.

"_Now, considering Gansley has any sense at all, there are two logical alternatives here,"_ I thought. _"He could be banking on Yugi being as doubtful as I am, hoping to prevent an attack for a few turns. The only other option is that it has something to do with Deck Master Rules."_

By the time I came upon this sudden revelation, Yugi had already used Polymerization to fuse Berfomet and Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts into Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast (2100/1800). "Next, I play-"

"Wait a second!" I barked. "I think Gansley's trying to draw your attack."

"That may be," replied Yugi. "But I can't pass up an opportunity like this." Turning back to the duel he said, "As I was saying, I play Quick Attack, letting my fused monster attack right away. Chimera, attack Ipiria!"

Gansley smirked. "You should've listened to your little friend. Condition three for success: Tempt your enemies to destruction! Using my Deck Master special ability, I sacrifice my two monsters to activate my reflector hole!" Yugi and I watched as Chimera was sucked into a black hole. Suddenly, Chimera reappeared and attacked Yugi directly!

1900/4000

Suddenly, it all came together. His strategy was to build up his "workforce" so he could sacrifice them to counter Yugi's attacks! It carried the ideals of several martial arts, wherein the attacker's strength is redirected to lead to self-defeat. And, as much as I hated to admit it, it was a very clever strategy.

Yugi clutched his shoulder and staggered a bit. I guessed the duels feel a lot more realistic in the virtual world. "You…haven't put me out of business yet, Gansley!"

Gansley laughed. "It's only a matter of time. And your friends are probably suffering even greater losses."

"_I certainly don't need reminding of that. The longer Yugi duels, the sooner one of our friends will be engaged in a fight for their body. And I greatly fear for dear Shizuka."_ I shook my head as if the thought would fall out. _"Focus, Siege: Stop those thoughts. Tristan and Duke are both obviously interested in her, and there's no need to burden her with a choice of three."_

I snapped back to reality – no, I mean _virtual_ reality – as Yugi said, "You talk a big game, but you have no monsters on the field to protect you, leaving you wide open for an attack."

Gansley shrugged and said, "I'd rather use an enemy than a companion."

"Is that another proverb? But because of the effect you used just now, you don't have even one monster. My battle phase isn't over. I can use direct attacks, too! Celtic Guardian, attack his lifepoints directly!"

1900/2600

Perfect. Now I had the information I needed to defeat Gansley if he challenged me. I explained earlier about building his workforce to charge a counterattack. The way to win was to ensure Gansley had no monsters to sacrifice. Or taking a step further, preventing him from sacrificing at all!

Gansley grinned and said, "Thanks; that's what I wanted you to do. Now, I call forth Ruclomba the Spirit King (1000/2000)!"

"But how can you do that during my turn?" asked Yugi.

"Every time I lose 1000 lifepoints or more, I can instantly special summon Ruclomba from my hand. Now, I just need to summon another monster, and you're stuck again."

Yugi shook his head. "It's not how many monsters you have. It's how you use them."

"I've been in business a long time, and I've always had a large workforce, which gave me the freedom to fire anyone I wanted, because there was always someone else to pick up the slack. And that's how I duel."

"_That's a very adult way of looking at things. It seems Gansley's just another one of those fools who see monsters as pawns to be sacrificed."_ When I was a Ghoul, Pandora and I constantly butted heads on the subject. Naturally, I'm glad Yugi settled the argument once and for all.

I started paying attention again when I heard Yugi end his turn.

"Very well," said Gansley. "First, I summon Youi (400/400). His special effect prevents you from drawing in your next turn. Next, I play Premature Burial. By investing 800 lifepoints, I can bring Ipiria back to the field."

1900/1800

So as it stood, poor Yugi had two monsters to stand against three. If Yugi attacked with Chimera, Gansley would just reflector hole the attack, wiping out the rest of Yugi's lifepoints. And, even if Yugi got in a good hit, Gansley would probably just send Ruclomba to the field.

Yugi began his turn. He instinctively reached for a card, but remembered the effect of Youi prevented it. "Here are a few more words of wisdom for you," said Gansley. "A Chinese proverb states, 'you can't do harm to a battalion.' A French saying is, 'Victory lies in keeping a battalion.' On the other hand, a Prussian once said, 'the quantity of troops is just one of the factors in winning.'"

Yugi snarled. "This is getting tedious. Shut up. Celtic Guardian, attack Youi!"

"Not a fast learner, are you? I sacrifice Youi and Ipiria to activate reflector hole!" I watched as Yugi's monster fell into a black hole, jumped back out, and attacked Yugi directly. Yugi reeled back in pain. I didn't know how realistic the duels were, but seeing Yugi on the brink of collapse made bells of alarm ring in my head.

500/1800

"That's two direct hits," said Gansley. "Three strikes and you're out. Surprised with how real this duel feels? This virtual duel will take more of a toll than the duels you're used to."

"At least…you're down…to one monster!"

"I think you'd better count again." We looked up and noticed that Gansley's workforce grew again. This time, Wall of Illusion (1000/1850) was on the field beside Ruclomba.

"How did this happen?" I demanded.

"It's simple. I activated Ruclomba's special effect. By sacrificing it, I was able to summon Wall of Illusion and another Ruclomba."

This was a bit of a turnaround. The duel started as mildly amusing. Then it became dangerous. At this point, it took a turn to completely terrifying. Now, Yugi couldn't attack at all, or he'd be blasted to destruction.

"It was a nice try," continued Gansley, "but in the end, big business always wins. My turn! Are you ready to surrender?"

"I'm afraid not," answered Yugi.

"Very well. I play Melchid the Four-Faced Beast (1500/1200), and use it to destroy your Celtic Guardian!"

400/1800

And with the shock of the impact, Yugi fell to the ground in pain. I quickly ran to his side. "Yugi, get up!"

Gansley smiled. "Is it over?"

"Get up and finish this duel, Yugi! Get up, or you'll be sorry." Don't I give a hell of a pep talk?

A second later, Yugi started to rise. I steadied him as he struggled to stand. "I'll never give up, Gansley!" Yugi snapped.

"It doesn't matter. I'll win soon anyway – as soon as I launch my next attack. But let me give you a present: the saying of a Prussian general who said, 'The crown of honor belongs to the winner. In other words, the end justifies the means.'"

"That's a false statement, and you're wrong as well," I said. "There's a reason why Yugi's known as the King of Games. He won't lose to someone like you."

"That remains to be seen. With his resources almost depleted, let him try to make a comeback."

Yugi motioned for me to move away when he was sure enough in his balance. I stepped back and resumed my unimportant role as spectator. Yugi began his turn and looked in doubt at a card he drew. With the angle I stood at, I couldn't see what it was. But his Deck Master, Kuriboh, started to squeak for some reason. I had no idea what it said, but I imagine it had to do with the card. A little bit later, Yugi set the card on his Duel Disk. "I place one card facedown and end my turn."

"Alright," said Gansley as he drew. "I activate Offerings to the Doomed, which lets me destroy your Chimera!" A second later, Chimera disappeared, and Berfomet (1400/1800) appeared in defense mode.

"Whenever Chimera's destroyed, its special ability allows me to bring back one of the monsters used to form it," Yugi explained.

"That doesn't matter. I sacrifice Melchid the Four-Faced Beast and Wall of Illusion to summon Rainbow Snake Eingana (2200/2000)!"

"_It figures,"_ I thought. _"More reptiles. It's perfect for has-been corporate scum like him."_

"Eingana, destroy his Berfomet!" The giant snake swallowed Berfomet whole! "It's time to finish you off. Ruclomba, attack him directly!" Ruclomba unleashed a magenta beam that would've finished Yugi off.

Suddenly, Kuriboh leapt onto the field and burst into multiple copies, as if Yugi used Multiply on it. I wondered if that was the facedown card he played, but then I realized the truth: it was a Deck Master special ability. When the smoke cleared, Kuriboh remained, as well as Yugi's lifepoints. He stood up straight and said, "This duel's not done."

"Are you sure?" asked Gansley. "Because you activated Kuriboh's Deck Master ability, it's now on the field. And if I destroy it, you lose! It's time for your final pathetic move. The only monster you have left is Kuriboh. What good will it do you?"

"Wait and see," said Yugi with a smile. I suddenly felt Yugi's power increasing. He was tapping into his inner power of Destiny Draw! And at that moment, I knew the outcome of the duel. "Even if you know a lot of old sayings," said Yugi, "the sayings don't belong to you until you grow up and do something on your own; t_hen_ you can claim them. Now _I_ will take the saying, 'The crown of honor belongs to the final winner' as my own."

They may have been theatrics, but I'll be damned if they weren't great theatrics.

With that, Yugi drew, and I felt the energies within Yugi flow into the card. Yugi examined it for a second. Then he showed it to Gansley. "Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight?" asked Gansley. "How will that help? Whatever monster you use, I'll reflect the attack right back."

"Wait. You haven't seen my facedown card. I activate Rainbow Blessing, which I use on Kuriboh, forming the rainbow arch!" Kuriboh suddenly started to glow in seven colors, and transformed into a rainbow bridge.

"Now, since I have no cards in my hand, I can call Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight (2300/2100) to the field! Gaia, use the arch to bypass his monsters and attack Gansley directly!"

Now it was Gansley's turn to panic. "No! My special ability doesn't work on direct attacks!" Swift Gaia ran on the rainbow like a bridge and struck Gansley with his lance.

400/0

A second later, Gansley disappeared, and Yugi sank to one knee. "You did it!" I cheered.

"With no small thanks to Kuriboh," he pointed out. Kuriboh squeaked in response and disappeared.

Suddenly, a door appeared out of nowhere. "Where do you think it leads?" I asked as I helped him up.

"Hopefully to our friends," said Yugi.

Without hesitation, we opened the door and ran down the hallway, praying we weren't too late.

End Chapter

Once again, the King of Games makes a dazzling comeback against all odds. But can the same be said about the others? R&R.


	10. Thumbs Down in the Coliseum

We ran for about five minutes down the dimly-lit hallway, yet none of our surroundings changed at all. I started to wonder if we were getting anywhere. Eventually, we stopped to take a breath. "What the hell?" I demanded. "How many steps have we taken so far? How many more steps 'till we get to the end? _Is_ there an end?"

"I hope so," said Yugi. "But chances are it'll only appear when Noah wants it to."

I couldn't help but see the worry on Yugi's face. "Cheer up," I said, partly to him and partly to myself. "We'll find them all. Then we'll give Noah the trouncing of a hundred lifetimes for all the suffering he put us through."

I got the impression that Noah heard that. A second later, a vortex appeared under us, and we were sucked in before we knew what was happening.

When I emerged, I found myself in a worn-down coliseum of sorts. "I'm getting sick of this. Yugi, are you…" But as I looked around, I noticed I was alone again. "Yugi? Yugi! …Selkirk Rex!"

As if I uttered magic words, he appeared before me. **_"What's wrong? You're not lonely, are you?"_**

My eye twitched at his accusation, even though it was true. I turned my back to him and said, _"Don't be ridiculous. If I was worried about being alone, I wouldn't have joined the Ghouls all those years ago."_

Sensei grinned. **_"Which reminds me; I notice that you quit the Ghouls. Maybe you're not as cold as you lead people to believe."_**

"_That's not true! I quit the Ghouls because they were doing very bad things,"_ I lied.

"**_They already were before you joined up. You even said so yourself. You only didn't go along with it after you realized it hurt Yugi and his friends." _**I said nothing to him. What could I say? As much as I hated to admit it, I let myself get attached to them. I mean, it's not too strange when you think about it. Weird as they may sometimes be, they all have strange quirks that make them likable.

Yugi can be shy, but he duels like a hardened warrior. Joey is a strong duelist and likes to broadcast it, though he still has much to learn. Téa is the kind-hearted support of the group, but can be downright nasty when she's pissed. Tristan and Duke like to flex their muscles in front of Shizuka, though they're really around to support Yugi and Joey. Shizuka…where do I start? Even Mokuba's nice to be around, being the passive yin for his brother's yang.

Still, I'd never admit it to Rex. _"What if I _did_ notice it when Yugi and his friends were hurt? It's not necessarily cause and effect."_

"**_Not necessarily,"_** he admitted. **_"But it is what it is. I'll give you a little space until you can learn to stop lying to me."_** With that, he promptly vanished.

"And good riddance," I said once I was sure he couldn't hear. "_It figures. Before I left Sensei, I was a firm believer that a duelist is independent off the battle field, since he can easily become enemies _on_ the battle field. Have Yugi and his friends really changed me that much?"_

I took a few steps, but stopped as something shot up from the ground. I cautiously backed up, as several more things popped out. When the dust settled, they appeared to be roman gladiators. "Seriously, I'm sick of this." I drew my knife and motioned to the gladiators the classic come-and-get-me sign.

One of them charged, with his sword held high over his head. I faked to the left and spun, forcing my knife into his back. His sword hit the ground and he disappeared like Gansley did. Picking up the sword he left behind, I charged the remaining soldiers. One by one, each dissolved with a swipe of my blades. Stupid computer simulations can never stand against a real live swordsman. After ten seconds, I stood alone in the arena.

I heard a light applause. I turned and saw the Total Defense Shogun walking towards me. "You're not one of the Big Five," I noted as I tossed the sword away.

"That's right," he said. "But I met with the same fate. I'm Kemo, formerly one of Kaiba's bodyguards. The Big Five paid me to assist with their takeover of Kaiba Corp."

"It appears as though you've made a poor career decision. But as they say, hindsight's 20-20."

He snarled. "You won't be laughing for long. Once I defeat you, I'll be free!"

"That's _'if'_ you defeat me, Kemo. Now, let's get this over with."

"Very well. It's time for you to build your virtual deck," he said as a bunch of scrolling card images appeared in front of me. "Simply touch an image to add the card to your deck." I chose cards that were as close to my original deck as possible, though Obelisk wasn't selectable. "Now, choose one of those cards to be your Deck Master."

"I choose Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700)!" I declared.

"And I'll serve as my own Deck Master (1550/2500). It's time to duel!"

4000/4000

"I'll go first, runt. I place two cards facedown and summon Monk Fighter (1300/1000) in attack mode. Then, I equip it with A Heart of Clear Water. Go."

"_Hmm…Now that his monster has A Heart of Clear Water, I can't destroy it in battle. However, I can still damage him."_ With that in mind I declared, "I summon Amazoness Swordswoman (1500/1600)! I'll set one card, and attack your monster!"

4000/4000

I frowned. "What's this? Your lifepoints are unaffected!"

"That's right. My monster's special effect reduces any battle damage involving this card to zero."

"Ok. I end my turn." Damn. I couldn't destroy his monster in battle, nor could I damage him.

"Now, I'll show you my full power! I sacrifice my monster to summon Master Monk (1900/1000)! Then, I activate my facedown cards: Rivalry of Warlords, and Lone Wolf!"

"What do they do?" I asked.

"Rivalry of Warlords means we each can only have one monster on the field. Lone Wolf means as long as Master Monk is my only monster on the field, it can't be destroyed in battle, and is unaffected by your card effects!"

I grinned. "A little one-on-one action is your game, huh? I can dig it."

"Master Monk, attack his Swordswoman!"

4000/3600

"The special effect of Amazoness Swordswoman means you take any damage in battle that I would've taken," I explained.

"That doesn't matter. My monster's effect means it can attack twice! I attack you directly!"

"Reveal Negate Attack! Sorry, but you aren't getting to me that easily."

"I end my turn."

As I drew I thought, "_Now, the only traps on his field are for supporting his monster, which means I have a bit of freedom in my moves. However, his Deck Master effect will destroy any monster that attacks him directly. That means if I want to damage him, I'll have to be…creative."_

"What's wrong?" asked Kemo. "Have you realized there's no way for you to win?"

"What I've realized is that even if I can't destroy your monster, you're still stuck if I summon something stronger," I replied. "To illustrate, I summon Mataza the Zapper (1300/800), and give him the Wicked-Breaking Flamberge. I discard a card, and my monster gains 500 attack points, and the ability to negate the effect of any monster it destroys. I also give it Big Bang Shot, giving it 400 more, and the ability to trample. And like your monster, mine can also attack twice! Strike him twice, Mataza!"

4000/3000

"You see? As long as you have a monster that I can damage, I have nothing to fear from your Deck Master ability, since it only works on direct attacks."

Kemo scoffed. "I'll bet you think you have it all figured out, punk. But I promise you don't. I activate Kaminote Blow! For the remainder of my turn, anything my monster attacks, it destroys! Boulder breaking fist!" Suddenly, I was alone.

4000/2700

"Now, I attack directly!"

"That's of no consequence. I discard Kuriboh to negate damage."

"You can't escape forever. Make your next move!"

"_That could prove to be a problem,"_ I thought to myself._ "I have no more cards in my hand. That was stupid and amateurish of me. So, now what can I do?"_

As if in response to my question, Dark Magician Girl put her hand on my shoulder, and for a moment I could hear her thoughts . _"You can use my special ability: _ _Soul Circle__. With it, you can remove from play the monsters in your graveyard, and draw a card for each one removed by the effect."_

I nodded and smiled. _"Thank you, Mana."_ I turned to Kemo. "I draw. Then, I activate my Deck Master ability: Soul Circle! I remove four monsters from the game to draw four more cards!"

I studied my refreshed hand. _"Five more cards; it means fifty more ways to take him down."_

"So what?" asked Kemo. "You can't defeat my Master Monk. Even if you do, my Total Defense Barrier will knock you back."

"Let's test your theory, shall we? First, I use Mystical Space Typhoon to blow away Lone Wolf. With it gone, I can use Snatch Steal on your monster!"

Kemo growled. "What?"

"Let's review your options. If you use your Total Defense Barrier, you'll lose your strongest monster. On the other hand, if you don't, I'll destroy you. Let's see what you choose…right now! Boulder breaking fist!"

"Damn you! I use my Total Defense Barrier!" As I thought, he opted to destroy his best monster. "You'll pay for this."

"Maybe I will, but not right now. I summon Spear Dragon (1900/0) and end my turn."

"I pass."

"I'm glad to hear it. I play The Shallow Grave, letting us take a monster from our respective graveyards and play them in defense mode."

"Fine. I choose Master Monk."

"I have no monsters in my graveyard, so I can bring nothing back. Now, I attack with Spear Dragon, and it does trample damage!"

4000/1800

"Since it attacked, it switches to defense mode. I set one card and end my turn." I crossed my arms. "Good help is so hard to find these days. Don't you agree?"

"Stop that stupid grin!" he snapped. I could've sworn I saw a vein visible on his neck. "I play Card of Sanctity, requiring us to draw until we each have six cards in our hands. Next, I play Enraged Battle Ox (1700/1000), which also tramples! I destroy your monster!"

I smirked. "That was very irrational of you. I use Magic Cylinder!"

4000/100

"Fool. Did you honestly think you had a chance against me? I was trained by one of the former champions of the world! And if that weren't enough to seal your fate, you're keeping me from my friends. No matter how you look at it, you were finished before you even challenged me."

Kemo just glared at me, too furious to respond.

"I'll take that silence as you ending your turn. Now, I switch my Spear Dragon to attack mode and finish you off by destroying your monster!"

4000/0

"It's over, Kemo." Then Kemo started laughing. "What is it?"

"Who are you to say when it's over? I'm bigger and a lot stronger than you. I'm taking your body anyway!" He leapt at me.

"That was your last mistake." I spun around, whipped out my knife, and threw it at him. It went right through his chest. The area it passed through was pixilated, and it quickly spread to the rest of him. "Like I said, you're keeping me from my friends. And I'll plow a path through anything to find them; including you!"

He screamed and disappeared. After I picked up my knife, I looked to the sky as if Noah was hiding behind a cloud. "Noah, you fool! If you want to finish me, then have the courage to do it yourself instead of sending your pathetic lackeys!" After a little bit, another door appeared. _"How surprising. Another door. Well, let's get this over with."_

End Chapter

Loki managed to take on Kemo with ease. But will the remaining Big Five be so easy to deal with? R&R.


	11. Courtroom Chaos and Mechanical Mayhem

Having proceeded through the door, I found myself falling into infinite blackness. _"I'm surprised that I'm not even remotely scared," _I thought. I really didn't care that I wasn't scared. Really, for my purposes, fear was a luxury I couldn't afford.

I don't remember hitting the bottom. It's kind of like when you dream of falling, but wake up on your bed. I eventually lay flat on my back, completely unscathed. The temperature gradually dropped until I was able to see my breath. Slowly, the black turned into tundra.

"You shouldn't fall asleep in this temperature." That wasn't me who spoke.

I looked to my side and saw Yugi standing there, along with Téa who was wearing his coat. "Hey, you're alright!" I said with a smile.

"What happened to you after we split up?" he asked as he helped me up.

"I faced off against a guy named Kemo, who had the same motives as the Big Five. Needless to say, he was outclassed. What have you two been up to?"

"Where do I start?" Téa asked in an exasperated tone. "I was captured by a bunch of monsters who wanted to make me their dinner. I was rescued by a penguin, who led me to a raft that brought me here. I faced off against Crump, a penguin-obsessed accountant. I nearly lost, but I used the Sage's Stone to summon a Dark Magician from Yugi's deck."

"Luckily, I arrived a few turns before she played it," said Yugi.

"Blimey," I said with a sigh. "It sounds as though you had a lot more fun than I did."

"FUN!?" Téa shrieked. "I was nearly a popsicle! What's wrong with you?"

"Various things," I casually replied. "I couldn't say an eighth of my total problems without pausing to take a breath."

"Hey!" interrupted Yugi. "It's another door!"

I turned and frowned. "I'm starting to hate those things." Nevertheless, we walked through it. We found ourselves in a courtroom, with Judgeman (2200/1500) in the judge's seat. He was dueling against Joey, whose Deck Master was Flame Swordsman (1000/1600), though I had no idea why his attack points were so low. "Hey."

He turned around. "Hey, guys!"

The Judgeman angrily pounded a nearby gavel. "Order in the court!"

Joey ignored him. "You're just in time to see me kick Johnson's keister."

"Sit down," ordered Johnson. "Don't make me eject you from the courtroom."

As Yugi, Téa and I took our seats, I assessed the situation. Johnson had a facedown card and Mystical Elf (800/2000) on the field, while Joey only had one set card.

2500/200

"Now," said Johnson, "I summon Curtain of the Dark Ones (600/500), and use my facedown Polymerization to fuse my monsters into Camion Wizard (1300/1100)! Then I play Sinister Justice, letting my fused monsters attack during the turn they're summoned. I attack directly!"

1200/1000

"What's going on?" I asked. "Why did Johnson's lifepoints increase?"

"Sinister Justice increases Johnson's lifepoints by 800 whenever he damages Joey's lifepoints with a fusion monster," explained Yugi.

"I'll set one card facedown and end my turn," declared Johnson. "I'm sealing your doom."

"Great," muttered Joey. "If it wasn't for that spell, I would've won this duel. Now whenever he attacks, he's getting stronger and stronger!"

"I have far worse in store for you, Joseph. I find you guilty of poor dueling."

"We'll see. I summon Panther Warrior (2000/1600) in attack mode, and set one card facedown. That's all for now."

"_Panther Warrior is more than a match for Camion Wizard,"_ I thought. _"Too bad Joey has to sacrifice a monster whenever he wants to attack with it."_

Johnson drew. "I play Leading Question, which adds 800 attack points to fusion monsters while they attack. Now, I destroy your monster!"

"Not so fast! I play Skull Dice, which will reduce Camion Wizard's attack depending on the roll of the die." After a pause as the die slowed to a stop he cheered, "Yeah, it's a six!"

"Maybe you should take a closer look."

"Huh?" Joey leaned forward. "WHAT? It's a one?" It meant Camion Wizard's points were unchanged, and it destroyed Joey's monster.

1100/1800

"You let him turn the duel around!" snapped Téa. "What are you doing, Joey?"

"Shut up," he snarled. "I summon Swordsman of Landstar (500/1200), and play Graceful Dice to increase its attack!" After a pause he shrieked, "ANOTHER one? What did I do to deserve this?"

"Poor Joey," Téa murmured. "I've never seen him have such terrible luck before."

"I know," I agreed. _"It seems more than just a string of bad luck. It's really more like a curse."_

"I use my Deck Master ability to clear the courtroom!" stated Johnson. "I pay 1000 lifepoints to wipe out your monsters, and inflict 500 lifepoints of damage for each monster!"

600/800

Joey groaned. "I'll set two cards and end my turn."

Johnson drew. "I'll bet you wish you drew this card. I play Pot of Greed to draw two cards, something you need to do soon."

"I plan to do just that. I use my trap card, Gamble!"

I frowned. "It's come down to this?"

"I don't get it," said Téa. "What does that card do?"

"It can only be activated if he holds no cards and his opponent holds six. He flips a coin, and if he calls it correctly, he gets to draw five cards. If he calls it wrong, he has to skip his next turn. Basically, if he gets it wrong, he's as good as dead."

A coin appeared in front of Joey and he flipped it into the air. Then he caught it in his head and slammed it into the rail. "I predict heads," he called.

"_Please be right, Joey,"_ I thought.

"ARGH, it's TAILS!"

"_Damn."_

"Well, I activate my Scapegoat spell, placing four monster tokens on my field."

"In that case," said Johnson, "I play Reinforcement of the Army, adding a level four warrior monster to my hand. Then I play Polymerization to fuse the Armaill and One-Eyed Shield Dragon in my hand to create Dragoness the Wicked Knight (1200/900). I destroy two of your tokens with my monsters!"

"Fine. Now, I-"

"Objection! You lost with Gamble, so you skip your turn. My monsters will wipe out your remaining tokens!"

"Damn," groaned Joey. "I lost with Skull Dice, Graceful Dice, _and_ Gamble." He punched the railing. "I can't believe I had such bad luck!"

"You still have one more turn!" cheered Téa. "You can't give up before the end!"

"But the goddess of luck abandoned me."

I scratched my chin. "I'm not so sure about that."

Yugi leaned over. "You think Johnson's cheating too?"

"Yeah. I noticed several fluxes in his aura when Joey played Skull Dice, Graceful Dice, and Gamble."

"Right. Then let's pull the plug on-" I stopped talking the second Noah appeared in the middle of the courtroom. "NOAH!"

"This duel is null!" declared Noah.

"What?" demanded Johnson. "But I'm only a few moves away from taking this fool's body!"

"You don't deserve that prize! You've been cheating, using my technology to tamper with Joey's dice rolls and coin toss!"

"This isn't the Olympics! Why shouldn't I cheat?"

"Your excuses bore me. I brought the Big Five into my virtual world to help me defeat Seto and his friends. If you cheat, I can't prove I'm more deserving than Seto!"

"_More deserving of what?"_ I wondered.

"Wait a minute, Noah," said Joey. "There's always cheating in gambling, but I don't want to quit in the middle of a battle."

"Are you nuts?" shouted Téa. "Cut and run!"

"No. Now that I know that he was cheating, I know the goddess of luck hasn't deserted me. And that means I can take him down fair and square!"

Noah smirked. "As you wish. I hope you know what you're doing; the stakes remain the same." With that, he vanished.

"That was a foolish thing to do," said Johnson. "I still have the advantage."

"Yeah, but with Noah monitoring the duel, you can't cheat anymore."

"Touché. I end my turn."

"Alright," he said as he drew. "My luck's turning; I play Pot of Greed, letting me draw two cards. Next, I move my Deck Master to the field, and equip it with Burning Soul Sword!"

"Not bad, but Burning Soul Sword won't work unless you sacrifice another monster, and you don't have any other monsters on the field."

"I'm not done yet. I play Arduous Risk!"

"It's another gamble card," explained Yugi. "Joey chooses a monster and a spell from his deck. Johnson then has to choose one of the cards. If it's a monster, Joey can summon it to the field, but if it's a spell card, it'll go to the graveyard and Joey's turn is over."

"It's an all-or-nothing gamble with Joey's life on the line," I said. "If it wasn't so serious, I'd say it was pretty exciting."

Joey held the two cards in front of him, facing away from Johnson. "The cards are Goblin Attack Force (2300/0) and Shield & Sword. That means if you choose wrong, I'll be able to power up my Flame Swordsman enough to wipe you out."

Johnson fidgeted, knowing full well he wouldn't be able to cheat his way out. "Um…I'll choose the card in your left hand."

"Are you sure?"

"Ah…"

"Are you _really_ sure?" insisted Joey.

Suddenly, Johnson calmed down. "Yes, I'm sure. It's an old trick, but a good one. You asked the same question twice, so you're trying to make me change my answer."

"…"

"As a lawyer, I spent years convincing people lies were truth, so you have no chance of outwitting me." He banged his gavel. "Case closed. Now, show me your card."

Joey's frown became a grin. "Heh. You guessed-"

"WAIT!" Johnson cried out. "I changed my mind! I choose the one in your right hand!"

Joey frowned. "The other card?" He showed it to Johnson. "That's gotta hurt."

"AGH!"

"You chose Goblin Attack Force, so I can summon it to the field! And I sacrifice it for Burning Soul Sword's effect, powering up my Flame Swordsman by my monster's attack points. Flame Swordsman, wipe out his Dragoness!"

600/0

"How can this be?" cried Johnson as he disappeared. "I once convinced a jury that a hydrophobic man stole a boat! How was I outwitted?"

"Nicely done, Joey," I said as I stood up. "That was an impressive bluff you made there at the end."

"Thanks, but we gotta go find the others."

"I agree," said Yugi. "The other members of the Big Five could be dueling them right now."

"Say WHAT? But Shizuka's never dueled before! We have to find her right now!"

I nodded. "You're right. Every second spent talking is a second wasted." As soon as the door appeared, we bolted through, determined to save Shizuka.

**00000000**

As we ran through the caverns we were transported to, we heard a scream that we instantly recognized as Shizuka's. "I've got a bad feeling," Yugi murmured.

"No kidding," I snapped. Eventually we saw a light at the end of the cave. Once we emerged, we were on the balcony of a hangar. A duel was going on against the Perfect Machine King, involving Duke and Shizuka.

"SHIZUKA!" Joey and I cried out.

"JOEY!" Shizuka called back.

"It's good that they're here," remarked Perfect Machine King. "They can watch their friends be defeated."

"But where's Tristan?" asked Téa. "Wasn't he with you?"

"Tristan lost," Duke sadly reported. "He sacrificed himself to defend Shizuka from Nesbitt's attack."

I sunk to my knees. "Not Tristan…he was innocent. All he did was support us all."

"They need help!" said Yugi. "Joey, you should take Tristan's place!"

"I won't allow it," growled Nesbitt.

"In that case," said Joey, "you're just going to have to beat him, Shizuka! Trust in the heart of the cards!"

"Right," she responded.

Let me explain the setup. Nesbitt had Clockwork Night on the field which, along with Perfect Machine King's special effect, raised his attack points to 3800. Duke had no cards on his field, Tristan had Command Angel (1400/1600) and a facedown card in play, and Shizuka's had Lady Panther (1400/1300) and Forgiving Maiden (800/2000).

2100/0/150/**1100**

She was silent for a time as she contemplated her strategy. With her pure glow, I was doubtless that Shizuka would triumph. "I sacrifice Lady Panther to summon Marie the Fallen One (1700/1200)! Then, I activate the Deck Master ability of Goddess with the Third Eye (1200/1000), letting me sacrifice a spell in my hand to fuse my monsters into St. Joan (2800/2000)!"

"It's still too weak," stated Nesbitt. "Huh?"

St. Joan started to glow, and her attack points went up by 500. I studied the field until I came across the answer. "Nesbitt, you may have defeated Tristan, but his Command Angel is still in play, and its effect increases all fairy-type monsters' attack points by 500."

"Even so, it's still not enough!"

"Maybe, but before Tristan went away, he left behind a present," said Duke, pointing to the facedown card. "And that's where _I_ come in. I activate my Strike Ninja's (1700/1200) Deck Master ability, letting me discard two cards from my hand to activate one facedown card!"

Strike Ninja did a few hand motions symbolizing the kanji Rin, Hyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, and Zen. The card flipped up, and was Rare Metal Soul, raising St. Joan's power by 1000 more.

"St. Joan!" shouted Shizuka. "Attack with holy blade!"

I smiled. "It's over, Nesbitt. St. Joan's attack is equal to your Perfect Machine King's, so they're both destroyed. And since Perfect Machine King is also your Deck Master, you lose!"

As Nesbitt vanished he said, "It was a mistake to put my Deck Master on the field. But although I lost, I still got a body!"

"WHAT?" I shrieked. "Return Tristan at once, dammit!" But he was gone. "You will fail, Nesbitt." I jumped down from the balcony and ran towards the exit.

"Siege, wait!" said Yugi. "We gotta stick together, or Noah might separate us again!"

"Then _you_ guys stick together while I save Tristan!" I didn't stick around long enough to hear his response. By some strange coincidence, when I exited the building, I nearly ran into the brothers Kaiba. "Kaiba? Mokuba?"

They turned around, surprised. "Siege?" asked Mokuba.

"No time for pleasantries. Have you seen Tristan anywhere?"

"No, we-"

"Kaiba!" We looked up and saw Tristan standing on a rooftop. But it didn't sound like Tristan. He had an evil look on his face, and carried a wooden sword.

"Hey, Tristan!" Mokuba yelled back. "Do you know where Yugi and the others are?"

"Guys, I'd suggest evasive action at this point," I advised. But it was too late, for he already jumped down with his sword above his head. I grabbed Mokuba by the collar and pulled him away before he was struck by the sword.

"Tristan!" barked Kaiba. "Are you out of your mind!?"

"You have no idea," I growled. "That's not Tristan."

"That's right," said Nesbitt. "I'm just someone looking for a little revenge!" With that, he slashed at Kaiba, who dove out of the way. Kaiba zinged a card at Nesbitt, but it was blocked by the sword. I instinctively reached for my knife, but stopped when I realized Tristan would be unhappy with me if I damaged his body.

"Tristan!" I looked around and saw the gang. "Are you alright?" asked Téa.

"You kids should be on your way," snarled Nesbitt.

"That's not Tristan," Duke realized. "That's just one of the Big Five!"

"You got it." And then he lunged at Kaiba again. Kaiba picked up a pipe to defend himself, but Nesbitt knocked it out of his hands. "Fool! I was a fifth-grade Kendo master!"

Suddenly, a little robot monkey jumped up and latched onto Tristan's – or is it Nesbitt's? – face. Nesbitt pulled the monkey off, but Joey rammed into him, sending him through a warehouse door. "Cautiously," I warned. "It won't matter if we find Tristan's mind if you break his body first!"

"Sorry!" Joey exclaimed. "I didn't mean to hit that hard!"

The good news is that apparently it wasn't too hard. Unfortunately, he was still a threat. He nearly ran us over with a motorcycle. Then he snatched Mokuba.

"Hey, get back here!" I threw my knife at the motorcycle tire, but I came short. "No, I missed!" Then I was nearly run over by a motorcycle again, as Kaiba rode past me to catch up to Nesbitt.

"If he's after the fake Tristan," said Joey, "we should go find the real one."

I sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have run off like that. I may have royally messed things up for us."

"Don't beat yourself up," said Téa. "It's not like you could've helped any more if you stuck with the group."

"Yeah, maybe you're right." Téa was definitely the kind-hearted support. Then we turned to the sound of some high-pitched squeaks. "It's that robot monkey again."

"I don't trust that thing," muttered Joey.

Regardless, Shizuka leaned down to pet the little critter. "How dangerous could he be?"

"Don't touch that thing!" Duke warned. "It could be some sort of trap."

"He's right," said Joey. "I think we should just take that thing apart."

"Don't you touch him!" demanded Shizuka. "He saved Kaiba, didn't he? Besides, he's adorable!" The monkey then leaped into her arms and hugged her.

I was disturbed – and maybe a little jealous – with how close to her breasts the monkey was. Regardless, I said, "You heard her. If she wants the monkey unharmed, then we're not going to touch the monkey. If you disagree, you'll have to deal with me."

"Thanks, Siege," said Shizuka.

I winked. "Sa right." In my mind, the monkey probably wasn't any real danger anyway. Plus, winning a few points with Shizuka wasn't an unpleasant bonus. I knew I probably didn't stand a chance with her once Tristan returned, but it wouldn't stop me from trying.

End Chapter

Oh no! Can the gang save Tristan? And what'll happen to Mokuba? R&R, please!


	12. Four Fifths Down

Five minutes later, we were going down the road in a three-wheeled pickup truck we found in the warehouse. I was glad Joey had his driver's license: I could've driven if I wanted to, but I felt like I earned the right to sit in the passenger seat. As he drove, I discretely looked Shizuka over, studying her aura. As you've probably concluded by now, I have the ability to see a person's aura. The size of their aura shows their strength, and the color shows their purity.

Take Yugi, for example. His aura is very light, and extends perhaps four inches all around him. His pharaoh counterpart has a slightly less bright aura, but it extends seven inches all around. Kaiba's aura is equal in size, but less bright than the pharaoh's. Just between us, Kaiba is really a good guy, even if he comes off as an asshole.

Remember Odion from a few chapters ago? His aura is only an inch and a half all around, though his deck more than made up for it. His aura is beige, which is pretty much as neutral as you can get. The reason why I mistook his aura for a large dark one is because of Marik's influence on him.

But let's get back to Shizuka. Her aura was the brightest one I've ever seen, even surpassing Yugi. It wasn't a really big aura, though. Still, if she honed her skills enough, even Yugi would probably be able to see her aura; that's how bright it was. I closed and rubbed my eyes, reminding myself to carry around a pair of shades the next time I viewed her aura.

I decided to break the silence at that point by venting my frustrations. "Stupid virtual world," I grumbled.

"Hmm?" asked Yugi. "Why do you say that?"

"It's the accommodations, or lack thereof. With a press of a button, a little brat – albeit a smart one – can send us to the four corners of his virtual world. I can play games where the odds are against me; in fact, I love it when that happens. But it's not fun anymore when the game is rigged. Do you know what I mean?"

Yugi nodded. "Yeah. When I dueled against Pegasus in Duelist Kingdom, he knew all my strategies before I could come up with them."

"How did you get out of that one?"

"Would you believe me if I told you it was a combination of my Millennium Puzzle and the hearts of my friends?"

I smirked. "Yugi, I served Marik for two years and saw my share of weird things. I'd probably believe you if you said you could fly by waving your arms like a bird." Suddenly, Joey slammed on the brakes, sending us into Duke. For some reason, the robot monkey screeched at him and me until we stopped touching Shizuka.

"Why did you stop?" asked Yugi.

"Look in the sky." Joey pointed out what looked like a rocket going into space. "What do you think it is?"

I pulled out my PDA. "It looks familiar. Just scanning. …Guys, I think Kaiba's run into a little trouble. That's a monster called the Satellite Cannon. Should we investigate?"

"Shouldn't we be looking for Tristan?" Shizuka pointed out.

Before I could reply, I heard a familiar voice say, "…much better than those Romeo wannabes, Duke and Siege."

"What was that?" asked Téa.

"Who's a Romeo wannabe!?" I demanded.

Then the voice spoke again. "If I'm stuck like this long enough, I might start eating bananas."

But this time, we could tell it came straight from the robot monkey. "Tristan!" we exclaimed.

"Huh? You guys can hear me now?"

Joey jumped out of the truck and grabbed the monkey out of Shizuka's hands. "Ok, who are you!? I don't trust you."

"Joey, it's me! Tristan!"

"I don't buy it. I'll bet you're a spy sent by Noah. Would someone mind doing something about this thing?"

I took the monkey from him and tied it to a corner of the truck as he climbed back in the driver's seat. "I'm truly sorry, Shizuka. I know how much you like that monkey, but I have to make sure it doesn't try to hurt us."

As we started driving, the monkey pulled at the makeshift leash. "Come on! Do I look like a dog to you?"

"I'm sure we can all agree if there's any animal you look like, it's a monkey."

Eventually, we stopped. A gap prevented us from going further and on the other side was Kaiba, dueling against someone – Lector, I believe – whose Deck Master was Jinzo (2400/1500). Of course we knew that Kaiba's traps were useless, now. Kaiba's Deck Master was Lord of Dragons (1200/1100).

Lector had Injection Fairy Lily (400/1500) and Satellite Cannon in play, along with Solemn Wishes, Life-Absorbing Machine, and one facedown card. Kaiba only had a set monster, as well as Twin-Headed Behemoth (1000/1000). The stats looked like this:

1200/2600

"Without his traps, it's like playing with half a deck!" shouted Téa. "This duel isn't fair!"

"Naturally," I said. "But Kaiba's a real duelist; he'll open a way with his own power."

Kaiba drew. "Oh, well! I hope you're prepared for inclement weather. I activate Heavy Storm, blowing all your spells and traps away!"

"Nice try," said Lector, "but I activate Imperial Order! It negates all spell cards, and it stays on the field as long as I pay 700 lifepoints each turn! Now, you can't play any traps _or_ spells!"

"Ok," I muttered. "_Now_, this isn't fair. Kaiba can't use spells or traps, and Lector's lifepoints keep going up, which means he can keep using Injection Fairy Lily's attack once a turn."

"My turn!" declared Lector. "I gain 500 lifepoints from Solemn Wishes and another 1000 from Life-Absorbing Machine. Then I pay 700 to keep Imperial Order on the field."

1200/3400

"And now, I attack your facedown monster with my Satellite Cannon!" We watched as a beam shot down from the sky and vaporized the Wicked Worm Beast (1400/700).

Kaiba growled. "How can I stop a weapon that's hiding in the sky?"

"You can't! Only a level 7 or above monster can reach it. And each turn, the Satellite Cannon gains 1000 attack points. You're about to lose everything you have, and it serves you right for destroying your own stepfather and betraying the Big Five. Now you'll pay the price for using others to get what you want; even your own brother!"

I looked up. "What was that?"

"What's Lector talking about?" asked Yugi.

"Kaiba's a jerk, but he's not a slime ball. Perhaps Lector is exaggerating a little."

Lector continued, "Your treachery began when Gozaburo gave you ten million dollars to test your business skills. When you increased the money by threatening a smaller company, Gozaburo was impressed by your abilities and cruelty. But that wasn't good enough for you. You called the Big Five together, telling us that if we helped you take over Kaiba Corporation, we'd rule together as a team. We all began to buy up stock in Kaiba Corp, but we began to have difficulties. We realized that someone was leaking our plans to Gozaburo, and you told us it was Mokuba!

"After his rejection, Mokuba was forced to go to Gozaburo, who only wanted Mokuba's shares in the company. With Mokuba's two percent, he believed he held fifty-one, so he stopped buying stocks. When you made your takeover attempt with your own forty-nine percent, Gozaburo thought our plan failed. He intended to fire us and send you back to the orphanage. But Mokuba gave you his two percent, and you became the new president. On that day, Gozaburo was broken. He committed suicide, and it was your fault."

Lector's tone slowly started to get louder. "You played us all like fools. It was really _you_ who leaked our plans to Gozaburo! You deliberately leaked the information, making Gozaburo think it was Mokuba, so that Gozaburo would let you buy up forty-nine percent of the company, confident that he would have Mokuba's two percent on his side. But you knew better, didn't you!? You knew that Mokuba would remain loyal to you, no matter how badly you treated him!"

I was shocked. _"He manipulated his own brother to claim Kaiba Corp? I knew he was ambitious, but I never realized the extent he was willing to go. I'm surprised that Kaiba's aura isn't pitch-black."_

Kaiba shook his head. "That's not true. Mokuba was the only one I trusted. I knew that together, we could take our stepfather down."

"Lair!" snapped Lector. "You _used_ Mokuba, and took advantage of his trust! You used me and the Big Five!"

"Listen. Life is a game, and I won't let anyone trample my dream. I draw, and summon Spirit Ryu (1000/1000)! I use it to attack your Injection Fairy Lily!"

"I activate Fairy Lily's effect, paying 2000 lifepoints to increase her attack by 3000!"

"And I use _my _monster's effect, discarding two dragon cards from my hand to increase my monster's attack by 2000."

"It's still too weak!" A second later, Kaiba's monster was destroyed.

800/1400

"Why did he do that?" asked Téa.

"Kaiba knows what he's doing," said Yugi.

I nodded. "Marik used this very trick against me when he dueled through Joey."

"Behemoth," said Kaiba, "Destroy his Fairy Lily!"

Lector caught on too. "No! I don't have enough lifepoints to boost my monster!"

800/800

"You'll pay for that. I draw, and gain a boost from Solemn Wishes and Life-Absorbing Machine!"

800/1650

"Wait," said Kaiba. "You have to pay 700 to keep Imperial Order in effect."

"I can't afford to keep it in effect, so I'll destroy it."

I grinned. _"Poor Lector. Now he can't defend against Kaiba's spells."_

"How could you hope to control Kaiba Corp if you can't keep the numbers in a simple game of Duel Monsters?" challenged Kaiba.

"Silence! I'll set a monster and attack with Satellite Cannon!" Once again, Kaiba's field was clean.

"My turn. I play Pot of Greed, letting me draw two. Then I summon Possessed Dark Soul (1200/800) and attack your defensive monster."

"I reveal Dream Sprite (300/200)! Her effect lets me redirect your attack to any of my other monsters, and I choose Satellite Cannon." Since Satellite Cannon can't be destroyed by anything lower than level 7, the attack dissipated. "For my turn, I'll simply take a boost from my traps and end my turn."

800/2150

"Why didn't he attack?" asked Joey.

"He's charging up his Satellite Cannon for one final blast," explained Yugi.

"_There's only one card that can save him now,"_ I thought. _"The card he took from Sensei years ago. Selkirk Rex, please watch over him."_

I sensed Kaiba performed the Destiny Draw, though he seemed oblivious to it. "I'll play a monster in defense mode," said Kaiba. "Then I use the Deck Master ability of Lord of Dragons. By paying 500 lifepoints, I can summon any dragon from my hand. So I sacrifice my monsters…"

300/2150

"…to summon the Blue Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)!"

"_There it is,"_ I thought. _"Well, that's the end of Lector. His Satellite Cannon only has attack points when it attacks, but not when it's attacked."_

"My dream won't be lost to a weapon of death! Ghost of Gozaburo…I command you to disappear!" Blue Eyes White Dragon flew up and destroyed the Satellite Cannon, wiping out Lector's lifepoints.

300/0

"Now, tell me where my brother is!" I can admit when I'm wrong. I thought that since Kaiba was willing to use his brother like a pawn, his aura would be darker. Now I see how much he truly cares for his brother. I'll wager that Mokuba's aura influences his brother's.

As Lector disappeared he said, "Who knows? But this isn't over yet."

Kaiba clenched his fists. "I'm coming, Mokuba!"

Then we heard Noah's voice. "You might have won the duel, but you've lost something more important: your brother!"

"Tell me where Mokuba is!"

"Just look down." In front of Kaiba, a tunnel appeared. Also, the gap between us and him was bridged.

"Mokuba!" he yelled as he ran towards the tunnel.

"Wait, Kaiba!" yelled Yugi. "We'll go with you!"

"Stay out of this!" snapped Kaiba.

"Who do you think you are?" demanded Joey.

"It doesn't concern you. It's family business!" With that, he ran off.

Joey fumed. "That Kaiba. Who needs him?"

"I think we should help Kaiba find Mokuba," said Yugi. With that, he and Téa started running towards the tunnel.

I crossed my arms. "What happened to 'we should stick together so Noah doesn't separate us'?"

"I'm sick of helping Kaiba and never getting any thanks for it!" snapped Joey.

"I don't care," said Shizuka. "He needs our help!" With that, she took the robot monkey and started running towards the tunnel.

"Wait a minute!" I called out as I ran after her. "We bloody well need to stick together!" That turned out to be a relatively small problem, as the tunnel disappeared shortly after Téa entered it. "What the?"

"Yugi!" Joey cried out. "Hang in there!"

I sat down. "Ok. Let's focus. We need to think of a plan to reunite with the others."

**00000000**

We thought for a few minutes, but nothing came. Then we heard the monkey say, "Hey, what has eight eyes and lives in the water?"

I looked over and saw him peering down into the water. "Is this some sort of joke?" asked Shizuka.

I walked over. "Let's see what you've got." I looked down and frowned. "No joke." I grabbed the monkey and pulled him away from the ledge as a waterspout shot up, revealing four of the big five. Gansley and Lector were still disguised as Deep Sea Warrior and Jinzo respectively. Crump was disguised as Nightmare Penguin, and Johnson as Judgeman. "It's four fifths of the Big Five. Came back for a rematch?"

"We're through with Noah's game," explained Gansley. "We're taking your bodies, and that's that."

"Sore losers." I reached into my pocket. "I'll have to teach you a lesson on…" I fumbled around, confused. _"Where's my knife?"_ Then I remembered where it was; back at the warehouse. I failed to retrieve it after trying to stop Nesbitt. _"Oh, damn."_

"Today, there's a 100 chance of our freedom!" declared Crump.

"I think not." I activated my Duel Disk, drew several cards, and summoned a bunch of random monsters. Joey did the same, and then we all jumped into the truck, which Joey had trouble starting. I looked back, and saw that while the monsters were keeping the four at bay, they wouldn't last long. "Hurry up, Wheeler!"

At last, the truck started. "Yes!" cheered Joey. "Hang on, guys!" We did, and we drove as fast as possible while the Big Five pursued.

Somehow, we ended up in a dusty landscape. I kept summoning random monsters while holding on, but they did little to slow their pursuit, and I eventually became alarmingly low on cards. Eventually, Lector fired beams from his eyes, and we swerved and turned over. I reached out to Duke, but he ended up flying. I breathed heavily, my heart racing a mile a minute. I slowly climbed to my feet and checked on everyone. Nobody was hurt; just a little shaken up. I was quite relieved, until we were surrounded.

"I want the girl's body!" said Crump.

"Hang on," said Lector. "We're choosing in order of height, so you choose last."

"What! That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"

Gansley came along, carrying Duke and setting him down. "Stop bickering and choose!"

Before they responded, Noah appeared. "You're all pathetic! You can't win fairly, so you decided to cheat?"

"Wait, let us explain!" screamed Gansley.

"Save it!" A vortex appeared, and the Big Five (minus one) were sucked up. And as the twister disappeared, so too did Noah.

I sighed with relief. "That's a stroke of luck." Then we all turned as we heard people running towards us. "Yugi! Téa! Kaiba!" I ran over and gave Téa a big hug, and Joey did the same to Yugi. After I let her go I said, "Seriously, I think Joey's impulsiveness is rubbing off on you." Kaiba stood alone, saying nothing. He only looked at a picture he held in his hand. I walked over and looked at it. It was a picture of Noah. To his left was a man in a red suit and a mustache, sitting down. "Who's that guy Noah's with?"

"It's my stepfather, Gozaburo Kaiba," he answered. "Noah claimed he was Gozaburo's true son."

It thought about. "Hmm…you took the company that Noah would've inherited from Gozaburo, and now he wants revenge? Yes, that makes sense."

"No, this photo must be a trick. Noah insinuated that this photo was taken six years ago. But look closely."

I studied it for a second. I didn't see anything wrong; Noah looked like he…"Oh! He looks exactly the same then as he does now!"

Téa shivered. "That means…Noah hasn't aged for six years?"

End Chapter

(Insert dramatic tone here.) What could Noah's secret be? Is it a good diet, or some kind of youth potion? Or is it something else? R&R.


	13. Five vs Three: Battle for the Bodies

As we walked down the road, the gang kept pestering Kaiba with questions. Eventually, Kaiba got fed up and snapped, "I've heard enough!"

He started to walk away, but Téa blocked his path. "We want to help you!"

"It's family business," he repeated. He tried pushing past her, but Téa blocked him again.

"Your family business got us all trapped here! We can help you find Mokuba." Kaiba turned away. "Mokuba is our friend, and we want to help him."

"Why don't you worry about _him_ instead?" We looked to where he was looking, and saw Tristan's body, standing on a nearby hilltop. I turned back to Kaiba, but he was already running away. I considered following him, but decided Tristan was a priority.

"It's that techno-geek, Nesbitt," said Duke, "who took Tristan's body even though we kicked his butt in our duel."

"You mean Shizuka kicked his butt," I corrected.

Then the five Deck Masters appear behind him. "As you can see," Tristan's body said in Gansley's voice, "we're all here."

"Give Tristan's body back!" yelled Yugi.

"There's only one way we'll do that: if you beat us in a duel," he said as he floated down the hill.

"I accept!" Yugi gained that glow again, and a Duel Disk appeared around Tristan's arm.

"Hang on a second!" said Joey. "Five against one isn't fair! I'm dueling too!"

"Same here," I said. "Three against five is still uneven, but our skill levels balance it out." Yeah, right. If anything, our combined skill greatly outnumbered that of the Big Five's.

"Very well," said Johnson. "But since there are three of you, we'll start out with three times the lifepoints to even it out. Now, choose your decks and your Deck Masters."

After our decks were put together Joey said, "My Deck Master's the Flame Swordsman (1800/1600)!"

"Mine is the Dark Magician (2500/2100)!" Yugi declared.

"And mine," I finished, "is the Fusilier Dragon (2800/2000)! Meet the all-star lineup!"

"We'll take turns dueling and cycling our Deck Masters," said Gansley. "Now, let's duel!"

4000/4000/4000/**12000**

Never have I actively dueled alongside Yugi or Joey, but I knew they'd be worthy allies by reputation. I wanted them to see me as a worthy ally too, so I decided to take extra care not to mess up. Of course, losing my body was added incentive.

"I'll go first," said Gansley, and Deep Sea Warrior (1600/1800) appeared next to him. "And I play Legendary Ocean!" As a wave came our way, the spectators climbed atop one of the mesas to avoid getting wet. "Then I summon Legendary Fisherman (1850/1600)!"

"Hang on!" Joey protested. "That's a level 5 monster! You need to sacrifice a monster to bring it out!"

"Not quite. Legendary Ocean downgrades all Water monsters by one level. Therefore, the Legendary Fisherman is only level 4. I end my turn."

"Fine. I summon Alligator Sword (1500/1200) in defense mode and end my turn."

"For my turn," said Yugi," I play Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts (1500/1200) in defense mode and end my turn."

I drew. "I'll set one card and play a monster in defense mode! Let's see what you've got!" Suddenly, Deep Sea Warrior disappeared and was replaced by Nightmare Penguin (900/1800). "It's Crump!"

"I'm going to beat you and take a young girl's body!" said Crump.

"Beat that flipper-footed freak!" shouted Téa.

"My Deck Master ability gives all Water monsters an extra 200 attack points!" boasted Crump. "Legendary Fisherman, destroy the Gazelle!" I was a little annoyed that he ignored me, but I reasoned that he was afraid of my trap. "Next, I summon Catapult Turtle (1000/2000) in defense mode. That's another level five monster summoned without a sacrifice, thanks to Legendary Ocean. And it's also boosted my Deck Master ability, and again by Legendary Ocean."

"We'd better get rid of that Legendary Ocean card," said Joey, "or we can say goodbye to our bodies." I felt compelled to agree. "I'll set one card, and summon Cyber Harpie (1800/1300)! Then, I'll switch my Alligator Sword to attack mode! That's all for me."

Yugi simply set Mystical Elf (800/2000) in defense mode and ended his turn. I realized Joey was preparing to make his move, so I decided to back him up. "I'll set another card and end my turn."

"Legendary Fisherman, destroy Yugi's Mystical Elf!" ordered Crump.

"Not so fast!" yelled Joey. "I reveal Kunai with Chain! It switches your monster to defense mode, and raises Cyber Harpie's attack by 700. You keep going on about Yugi this and Yugi that. I'm in this game too, you know!"

"As am I," I pointed out. "And until you figure that out, you won't lay a finger on our lifepoints."

"Fine," snarled Crump. "I'll set a monster and end my turn."

"It's go time!" yelled Joey. "I use Harpie's Feather Duster to destroy your Ocean. Cyber Harpie, destroy the Legendary Fisherman!" Once it was gone he said, "And now, Alligator Sword, attack his facedown monster!"

Crump grinned. "Thanks. It was Magician of Faith (300/400), which means I can return Legendary Ocean to my hand."

"Sorry, guys," Joey sighed. "I was dizzy from success."

"There's nothing to worry about," Yugi said. "It's my move, and I play Kuriboh (300/200) in defense mode! Next, I play Card Destruction, forcing all of us to discard our hands and draw new ones!" That meant, of course, that Crump no longer possessed Legendary Ocean.

"Beautiful, Yugi," I complimented. "Mind if I take my turn?" Yugi nodded. "In that case, I play Premature Burial, letting me bring back the Reflect Bounder (1700/1000) I just discarded!"

4000/4000/3200/**12000**

"It looks like the numbers aren't exactly in your favor. But for now, that's it. Go ahead."

"Now it's my turn," said Johnson as the Nightmare Penguin was replaced by Judgeman (2200/1500). "I activate my Deck Master's ability, letting me pay 1000 lifepoints to destroy all your monsters." Glancing at Judgeman he said, "Proceed, your honor: prosecute their monsters to the full extent of the law!" Our monsters were wiped out in a flash, and our lifepoints were lowered by 500 for each monster we had on the field.

3000/3000/2700/**11000**

"Next, I call Hysteric Fairy (1800/500) to the stand, and attack Joey directly!"

1200/3000/2700/**11000**

"Then, I activate the special effect of Catapult Turtle, sacrificing my Hysteric Fairy to damage Siege by an amount equal to her attack points!"

1200/3000/1800/**11000**

I snarled, "I hope you don't think you'll get away with that."

"Oh, but I will. You see, my strategy is to take out the weaker players first; then I can concentrate on Yugi."

"You're just mad because I wiped the floor with you in our last duel!" Joey accused.

"I continue. I place one card facedown and activate Altar of Mists. Now, let's hear from the defense."

"_Bad news,"_ I thought._ "Altar of Mists allows him to place any ritual card in his deck in his hand after three turns, and it can't be destroyed by spells, traps, or monster effects."_

"I summon Rocket Warrior (1500/1300)," said Joey, "and activate my Deck Master's special ability, letting me transfer 1000 of his attack points to Rocket Warrior!" Well, that explained why his Flame Swordsman's points were so low in his previous duel. "I destroy your Catapult Turtle!"

Johnson grinned. "Maybe so, but you've triggered Revenge Sacrifice, letting me tribute your monster to summon Machine King (2200/2000). It gains 100 attack points for every machine on the field; even itself."

"Not good. Yugi, it's up to you to finish this guy."

"I'll try," said Yugi. "I'll remove the Buster Blader I discarded earlier to call forth the Rock Spirit (1700/1000). Then I'll sacrifice it to summon Des Volstgalph (2200/1700)! Then I'll place one card facedown and end my turn."

Joey started to twitch. "Um, Yugi…"

"Don't bother Yugi, Joey," I said. "Can't you see he's trying to strategize? I'll play a monster in defense mode and end my turn." I knew what Yugi's plan was; he was playing possum.

Johnson switched with Nesbitt, as the Judgeman did with Robotic Knight (1600/1800). "I activate Heavy Storm, destroying all spells and traps on the field!" Of course, that excluded his Altar of Mist, since it was immune.

Yugi groaned. "My facedown card was Mirror Force. My plan was to reflect the attack right back."

"Yugi!" shouted Joey. "That's the oldest trick in the book!"

"It was worth a shot."

"Machine King," yelled Nesbitt, "destroy his Des Volstgalph!"

I grinned. "Sucker."

"He's right," said Yugi. "You've fallen into my real trap. Des Volstgalph's attack is increased by 200 whenever a spell is activated. Also, whenever it destroys your monster, you lose an extra 500 lifepoints."

1200/3000/1800/**10400**

"And as you can see," I pointed out, "we're still standing. All of us." You see, the plan wasn't simply to destroy Machine King, but also to draw attention from Joey. After all, Joey was helpless against a direct attack, and would've lost if Nesbitt struck.

"It's my move," said Joey, "and I play Panther Warrior (2000/1600) in defense mode! Then I'll place one card facedown and end my turn."

Yugi glanced up at the monkey in Shizuka's arms. "I'm sorry, Tristan, but I'm going to have to attack directly."

"Do what you have to do!" replied the monkey, and hid his face in Shizuka's chest. That sent several pangs of jealousy through me. Since we were now operating under the assumption that Tristan was really in the monkey, he was too close to Shizuka for my liking.

"Des Volstgalph, attack Nesbitt directly!"

1200/3000/1800/**8200**

"Then I play Big Shield Gardna (100/2600) in defense mode and end my turn."

I drew and smiled. "Showtime. I summon Amazoness Swordswoman (1500/1600) and attack you directly!"

1200/3000/1800/**6700**

Nesbitt started to draw, but Joey exclaimed, "I activate my trap, Drop Off, so you have to discard what you're about to draw!" But his trap suddenly vaporized. The three of us knew what that meant: We were facing Lector and his Jinzo (2400/1500).

"I activate my Pot of Greed," said Lector, "giving me two more cards."

"But," I pointed out, "it raises Des Volstgalph's attack strength again."

"That doesn't matter. I summon Injection Fairy Lily (400/1500) and activate her special effect, paying 2000 lifepoints to raise her attack points! I destroy Des Volstgalph!"

1200/2000/1800/**4700**

"I didn't think you'd sacrifice so many points to attack," said Yugi.

"I didn't. I activate Sebek's Blessing, raising my lifepoints by the amount you just lost."

1200/2000/1800/**5700**

"I'll set one card facedown and end my turn. Very soon, the Big Five will claim four more bodies!" As Joey drew, Lector activated Gravity Bind. "It prevents any monsters level 4 or higher from attacking."

"Wait a second," Joey protested. "Jinzo should stop _all _traps from being played!"

"True, but since he's my Deck Master, it only effects you."

"I can change that. I sacrifice Panther Warrior to summon _my _Jinzo! And this one works properly, so your Gravity Bind goes bye-bye."

"That doesn't matter. My Injection Fairy Lily is still the strongest monster in play."

"He's right," said Yugi. "But attack points aren't everything. Are they, Joey?"

"That's right. I activate Block Attack, switching your monster to defense mode! Jinzo, cyber energy shock!" With that, Lector was alone on the field.

"And now it's my turn," said Yugi. "I sacrifice Big Shield Gardna to summon Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700)! Dark burning attack!"

1200/2000/1800/**3700**

"There's more where that came from, Lector!" I said. "Swordswoman, attack directly!"

1200/2000/1800/**2200**

"I'll set one card and end my turn."

Suddenly, Lector started cackling. "You fools. It's been three turns since I played Altar of Mist. It's time to bring out the Big Five's ultimate weapon! The ritual card I chose is Dragon Revival Ritual! Now I can bring forth the Five Gods Dragon!"

"Impossible!" said Yugi.

"True. First, I have to sacrifice five monsters, each with a different attribute. And each of the Big Five has his own Deck Master."

I gritted my teeth. "That's cheap!"

But whether I liked it or not, it wasn't an illegal move. The five Deck Masters moved to the field, and merged into the Five Gods Dragon (5000/5000)! I remember Sensei told me about this 5000 attack point card. Apparently, there are only four cards strong enough to face it head-on. Three of them are Egyptian God Cards, and the other was Master of Dragon Soldier. And we had none of those cards.

"We've fought this beast before," said Yugi.

"I remember," said Joey. "It was the last time we faced these cyber-geeks. It destroyed my Red Eyes Black Dragon. And nearly me too! Let's hope my luck's better than it was."

"At least the Five Gods Dragon can't attack this turn, so we have one turn to stop it."

"Oh, I forgot to mention something," said Lector. "My dragon destroys all of your spell, trap, and monster cards when it's summoned." Once all our cards on the field were wiped out he added, "And lastly, it can't be harmed by monsters of Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, or Darkness."

"I call my Deck Master to the field," said Joey.

"I'll take over from here," said Yugi. "Now, I call _my _Deck Master to the field."

Lector laughed. "Your monsters are sitting ducks for my dragon."

"This duel's not over yet. I'll show you what real teamwork can do. I'll defeat your Five Gods Dragon the same way I did last time!"

I turned, surprised. "You actually beat that thing? Good on you, man!"

"That won't work," Lector protested. "Last time, you summoned Master of Dragon Soldier, and you don't have the cards to do that this time."

"True," admitted Yugi. "But we'll summon a monster that's just as powerful. I activate Polymerization, fusing Dark Magician and Flame Swordsman to form Dark Flare Knight (2200/800)! It's a combination of Joey and my Deck Masters, just as the Five Gods Dragon is a combo of yours."

"_That's_ your new monster? It only has 2200 attack points. Besides, since it's a Dark monster, it can't damage my monster anyway."

"We'll see. Dark Flare Knight, attack the dragon!" Normally, I would've flinched at the thought. But when he said he defeated Five Gods Dragon, I realized that he may have been a more skilled duelist than me. So I had faith he'd come out all right.

The Dark Flare Knight was destroyed, but Joey and Yugi were still standing. "Dark Flare Knight's effect means I take no battle damage. In addition, Mirage Knight (2800/2000) is summoned in its place. I use it to attack the Five Gods Dragon!" As it flew, Yugi explained, "Mirage Knight absorbs the attack points of the monster it attacks, giving it 5000 more. And the most important thing for you to realize…is that it's a Light monster, so it can destroy your monster! And since it's your Deck Master, you lose!" And with a swipe of the Mirage Knight's scythe, the Five-Headed Dragon was slain. It was a truly spectacular sight.

1200/2000/1800/**1100**

"Nice try," said Lector.

"You're like a damn cockroach!" I shrieked. "Why are you still standing?"

"I activated my facedown card, A Deal with Dark Ruler. It prevented me from taking damage when my monster was destroyed, at the cost of half my lifepoints. It also let me summon a new monster in his place. Say hello to my new Deck Master, Berserk Dragon (3500/0)!"

Yugi seemed worried, and I saw why. After an attack, Mirage Knight disappears. And his and Joey's Deck Masters were quite vulnerable on the field. "I activate Magical Hats, concealing my Dark Magician. Then I activate my Deck Master ability, paying 1000 lifepoints to duplicate the effect, using it on Joey's Flame Swordsman."

1200/1000/1800/**1100**

"No worries," said Joey. "Now they only have a one in four chance of destroying our Deck Masters."

"That's what _you _think," said Lector. "My monster can clear an opponent's entire field in one turn. Come your next turn, you lose."

"Who said there'd be a next turn?" I asked as I drew. "This duel ends now. Behold my Fusilier Dragon's Deck Master ability: I can summon any high level monster from my hand, but in return, its attack and defense points are cut in half. And I bring forth Guardian Angel Joan (1400/1000)!"

"What good is it against a monster with 3500 attack points?"

"As Yugi pointed out earlier, attack points aren't everything," I said, revealing a card in my hand, "You know what this is? It's called Double Spell, and it lets me duplicate the effect of a spell in any other graveyard, as long as I discard another spell from my hand."

"What? You can't-"

"Can too. I discard Nobleman of Crossout to activate Joey's Block Attack, switching your monster to defense mode! Guardian Angel Joan, destroy his Deck Master!"

1200/1000/5300/**0**

As Lector fell to the ground, I smirked. "That was a nice try. I guess big business doesn't always win."

"Nice work!" complimented Yugi as Shizuka and the others ran towards us. "We couldn't have done it without you."

I shrugged. "For some reason, I think you very well could've, though it probably would've taken longer."

Yugi turned to Lector and said, "Now, return Tristan's body."

"Sorry," said Lector. "You've obviously mistaken me for someone who plays fair. We're taking your bodies anyway!" The Big Five emerged in the forms of their Deck Masters and charged us. But before they reached us, they were suddenly drawn back into Tristan's body, which disappeared along with them.

I kicked the dirt. "It's almost a Pyrrhic victory. If we lost, we'd have lost everything; we won, but gained nothing. Tristan…I'm very sorry."

Tristan sighed. "Now I'm gonna be stuck as a monkey for the rest of my life!"

Shizuka picked him up and hugged him. "We'll find some way to restore you."

"…On second though, maybe I can learn to live with it."

Another pang of jealously hit me. I grabbed Tristan by the neck and pulled him away from Shizuka. "Ok, you're becoming just a little too touchy feely. Now, let's figure out exactly what makes you tick."

With that, I started poking and prodding him. "H-hey, what are you doing?"

"This body of yours was designed by Noah, yes? So, perhaps there's some sort of clue in you about how to escape." I discovered a pad that opened up in the back of his head, and pushed one of the buttons.

Tristan shifted, causing me to drop him. Before he hit the ground, he sprouted a few wheels. Then he started zooming very quickly around us. "HEY, HOW DO YOU STOP THIS THING!?"

"Sorrysorry!" I kicked him into the air and kept a tighter grip on him. I pushed another button; the wheels disappeared, but a set of rotor blades came out of his head. He started flying out of control. "Ok, I confess: I'm bad with electronics if I don't have an instruction manual!"

Eventually, Tristan crashed headfirst in the ground. That relieved me, since nothing valuable of Tristan's could be harmed by a head injury. "Let's try this red button," said Yugi.

After he pushed it, Tristan jumped up and said in a different voice, "Initiating escape sequence." And a virtual door appeared.

I sighed. "Once again, Yugi, you've shamed me. But it's a good shame; a character-building shame."

"Glad to help. Let's see where this door leads."

End Chapter

Yay! The Big Five have been defeated! But they're not out of the woods yet. The Kaiba brothers are still missing, and they haven't heard the last of Noah. R&R.


	14. Family Business

When we emerged, we were outside what appeared to be a Kaiba Corp amusement park. Tristan zoomed forward, and we pursued. Once we were inside, Tristan spun around and in his different voice he said, "Do not come any closer." Then a pair of guns emerged from his arms. Yugi and Joey took no notice, and ran right past him, putting him in a spin. When he recovered, he asked in his normal voice, "Whoa, what happened?"

Eventually we found ourselves in a room with an old-fashioned movie projector, which played automatically. From it, we learned some rather disturbing truths. "A funeral for Noah?" I asked. "Does this mean he's dead?"

"The movie certainly implies it," said Duke.

"You know what this means." I waved my arms around and said, "He is a ghooooost!"

I saw Joey shiver. "Knock it off. You're scaring the ladies."

I put my hands down and smiled. "Yes, I certainly wouldn't want to do that, Josephine."

"What're you implying!?"

"Oh, nothing," I replied with a smile that contradicted my answer.

"Come on," said Yugi. "Let's go see what else is here." After wandering around a bit, we found the building had some sort of subway station.

"Let's follow the tracks," said Tristan. "Maybe we can find Kaiba and Mokuba, get my body back, and get out of here!"

"I think we should wait for a train," Téa said.

Tristan jumped down anyway and said, "No need. Look, I found a handcar!"

"Nice score!" exclaimed Joey.

I looked doubtfully at the handcar. "…Maybe I'll walk. I could use the exercise."

"Don't be such a wuss."

I scowled at him. "Joey Wheeler is calling _me_ a wuss? I'll make you eat those words." As we sped down the rail a few minutes later, I realized that walking really wasn't as bad of an idea as I thought. Joey and Duke were going much too fast, and I could tell the others thought so too.

"DO YOU KNOW WHERE THE BRAKES ARE!?" shouted Téa.

I looked around and saw a broken metal rod. "Do you want the good news or the bad news?"

She didn't have time to respond, as we hit the wall. And I mean literally. We broke right through a wall and crashed onto a rock surrounded by lava. The first thing we noticed was that Kaiba was engaged in a duel against Noah, both of whom were on separate rocks.

Kaiba's Deck Master was Kaiser Seahorse (1700/1650), while Noah's was nowhere in sight. Noah had Chiron the Mage (1800/1000) in play, while Kaiba had Giant Germ (1000/100) in attack mode and a facedown card. Neither player lost any lifepoints.

Noah turned to us and said, "You've arrived in time to see my Creation of Heaven and Earth deck." Looking back at Kaiba he said, "I activate the special ability of Chiron the Mage, which lets me discard a spell from my hand to destroy your trap! With that out of the way, I attack your monster!"

3200/3500

Kaiba explained, "The special effect inflicts 500 damage to you and lets me summon another one when it's destroyed."

"I'm not worried. Giant Germ is weak."

"I didn't bring it back to attack with. It's my move, and I sacrifice Giant Germ to summon Vampire Lord (2000/1500)! I destroy your monster!"

3200/3300

"Vampire Lord's effect also forces you to discard one card of any type I want, so force you to discard a monster card."

"Very well," he said as he discarded a monster. "For my move, I play Fissure to destroy Vampire Lord. Next, I set a card and summon Aris (1800/200), which attacks you directly!"

1400/3300

"You'd better get serious if you don't want to lose."

"Whatever you say. First, Vampire Lord returns to the field. It'll return whenever it's sent to the graveyard by an effect. Next, I summon Slate Warrior (1900/400)!"

Joey smiled. "Good. Now he has two monsters to attack with."

Noah clenched his fists. "How dare you blemish my sacred place with demons!?"

Seto scoffed. "If you want to pretend to be the creator of the world, I will descend to your world with you. Vampire Lord, attack!"

"Not so fast, Seto! I activate Earthshaker! It allows me to select two monster attributes, and then you must choose one of them and destroy your monsters on the field with that attribute. So, choose either a Wind or Dark monster to destroy."

"In that case, I choose Dark." With that, his Vampire Lord was destroyed.

"Why did he choose to let his Vampire Lord be destroyed, when it was the more powerful of his monsters?" asked Joey.

"It was destroyed by a card effect," Yugi explained, "meaning it'll come back on his next turn."

"Slate Warrior, destroy his monster!" ordered Kaiba.

1400/3200

"Kaiba and Noah are nearly equal," said Joey.

"They both use a Power Deck, both made to summon powerful monsters," said Yugi. "In this duel, whoever is frightened will lose."

"Now I get serious," said Noah. "I play Giant Flood! When evil monsters appeared, God washed them from the Earth!" As he spoke, a tidal wave appeared and swept over the landscape, replacing the lava. Slate Warrior was sucked into a whirlpool, as were all the monsters in Kaiba's and Noah's graveyards.

"Now, it's time to you to meet my Deck Master, Shinato's Ark (?/?)!" A huge wooden ship rose from the water and hovered beside Noah. "It's time for the real Creation of Heaven and Earth Duel to begin!"

The ark settled in the water and opened up. All the monsters in both players' graveyards and hands were sucked inside. "From now on," said Noah, "every time a monster is sent to the graveyard, it will be re-routed into Shinato's Ark. This marks the beginning of the Seven Turns of Creation. I end my turn."

Kaiba started laughing. "It's my turn, and because of Shinato's Ark you have no monsters on the field or in your hand. If I draw a monster now, you'll have no way to protect yourself from attack."

"I'm afraid you're mistaken," Noah replied.

"I draw, and summon Spear Dragon (1900/0)! I attack you directly!"

"Sorry, but I have the ability to use the monsters aboard Shinato's Ark to protect myself." To illustrate his point, Vampire Lord appeared on the field in defense mode and absorbed Spear Dragon's attack. As Spear Dragon switched to defense mode with the attack, Vampire Lord returned to Noah's Ark.

No pun intended.

1400/2800

"Now, it's the Second Turn of Creation." The ocean dried up, and we found ourselves in jungle. "Welcome to the dinosaur age. I summon Giant Rex (2000/1000) and destroy your Spear Dragon!" And now, Kaiba was defenseless. Noah smirked. "Are you feeling frustrated to learn that I'm more intelligent than you?" Pointing to a metal sphere in the sky he said, "With each passing second, my brain grows. When my mind was digitized into the computer, something unexpected happened to me. My brain waves became more powerful, and I was able to absorb vast amounts of knowledge through my father's computer network. Soon, I became a superhuman, with more knowledge than anyone on Earth!"

"_How arrogant,"_ I thought. _"So, if I heard this right, he died and his father uploaded his brain into a computer. He's literally a ghost in the machine, which would explain why he's the same age in that picture from six years ago."_

"You're just a test Gozaburo has given me, you lowly human," Noah continued.

"If Gozaburo really wanted you to have Kaiba Corp, why didn't he just give it to you?" challenged Kaiba. "He could have let you compete with me openly. Why didn't he choose open and above-board ways? It was because Gozaburo didn't trust you after you became a computer."

Noah scoffed. "I remember waking in bed after the accident. Thinking that it was all just a dream, I jumped out of bed, calling for father. But the door to my room locked. In the wall of my bedroom, a window appeared with my father standing on the other side. I asked him to let me out of there, but he explained that I had died, and must remain in the virtual world. While I was trapped, I calculated that if we used the entire financial resources and weaponry of Kaiba Corporation, we could destroy the entire world in thirty days, with only about three percent of people remaining. Not that I cared about that, because it had nothing to do with me. I already surpassed human beings, and had begun to see Kaiba Corp's position from a new perspective. Father said he was impressed, but walked away when I asked if it didn't prove I was the perfect candidate to take over Kaiba Corp. Then he began to focus his attention on his new family: you and Mokuba. Soon he stopped visiting me altogether. He didn't believe that Kaiba Corp could be run properly by a virtual president."

Kaiba shrugged. "It proves that as strong as Gozaburo was, he still couldn't control the human mind. You can only see the virtual world. The real world is chaos. The frustration and strength to live can only be learned by people who live in it. Gozaburo must have thought that he might be able to accept you if you could win in competition with a flesh-and-blood human. But you lost everything important to a human being, living in his cold world."

"I haven't lost human feelings!" Noah protested. "I've surpassed human boundaries to become the Creator!"

"You can call yourself 'Creator' of this virtual world?"

"Let's see how well I understand human feelings. As Creator, I predict that in the Third Turn of Creation, something will happen that will shock your very existence."

"Let's just finish this. I play Pot of Greed, to draw two more cards. Then I activate Kaiser Seahorse's Deck Master ability, letting me summon a higher level monster without sacrificing another monster. I summon Different Dimension Dragon (1200/1500)! Then I set three cards facedown and end my turn."

"What's Kaiba's doing?" asked Joey. "Noah's Giant Rex can destroy Kaiba's dragon. Noah could win on his next turn!"

"Don't underestimate Kaiba," I said. "He did this for a reason."

Noah activated the Deepest Impact spell, which caused a barrage of meteors which destroyed the D. D. Dragon and Giant Rex. Then, the jungle started to turn to ice. "The dinosaurs were destroyed by a meteor shower which caused the Ice Age to begin," said Noah. The effect of Deepest Impact also cut both players' lifepoints in half.

700/1400

"The cold will weed out the week and let only the strong survive. Now, I play Ice Age Panic, which allows me to summon Last Tusk Mammoth (800/800)!"

Suddenly, D. D. Dragon appeared on the field in defense mode. "My dragon hid safely in another dimension to save itself from destruction," explained Kaiba. "It's more powerful than your Mammoth and can protect me from its attack."

"We'll see about that. Mammoth, attack his D. D. Dragon!" That was bad news. When the Last Tusk Mammoth is destroyed, both players lose lifepoints.

"I activate Ring of Destruction to destroy your monster and damage your lifepoints, and Ring of Defense so I don't take any damage."

700/600

"It's my turn, and I switch my D. D. Dragon to attack mode. Next, I use the effect of my Thunder Dragon, discarding it so I can put two more Thunder Dragons in my hand. Then, I play Polymerization to fuse my Thunder Dragons into Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon (2800/2100)! Next, I play Quick Attack to allow my fusion monster to attack in the same turn it's summoned."

"How quickly you forget," sneered Noah. "I can call upon any of the monsters from Shinato's Ark to protect me!" Giant Rex and Giant Soldier of Stone (1300/2000) came to the field in defense mode.

"Sorry, but I didn't forget. I play the trap known as Dragon's Rage, which lets my dragons trample. D. D. Dragon, take out his Giant Rex!"

700/400

"Once I destroy your Giant Soldier of Stone, it's over. Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon, attack with-" And that's as far as he got. All of a sudden, Mokuba appeared directly in front of Noah. "Mokuba!"

Mokuba stretched out his arms and said, "I won't let you hurt my brother!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I snapped. "You're looking at your brother right now!"

"What have you done to him!?" demanded Kaiba.

"Nothing," replied Noah. "Mokuba has chosen sides based on his own free will." He stroked Mokuba's face and said, "He's _my_ brother now. Remember how I predicted that something would happen during this turn to shock your existence?"

"Release Mokuba at once! This is _our_ fight!"

"How can you disrespect Mokuba by acting like his opinion means nothing?"

"You'd better give Kaiba Corp to Noah," said Mokuba.

"It's Marik all over again," I snarled. "Noah can't win with his skill, so he hides behind people we care about by messing with their minds."

"Well?" asked Noah. "What are you going to do now, Seto? I believe you were about to attack."

"…I end my turn."

Noah laughed. "Mokuba, thank you for helping me against this stranger. Now, let's crush this guy. I activate another ability of Shinato's Ark, removing all monsters within it from the game to increase my lifepoints by 500 for each one."

700/6400

"Oh, no!" exclaimed Joey. "One more attack and Kaiba's a goner!"

"Noah could have done this before," growled Yugi. "He was never really in danger of losing; he was just using Mokuba to hurt Kaiba!"

"That little cur," I muttered. "When I get my hands on him, I'll twist his body parts until he's coming and going at the same time!"

"Next," said Noah, "I activate Dark Hole, destroying all monsters on the field!" Of course, they just flew into the Ark instead. "I end my turn."

"Kaiba!" I shouted. "You have to remind Mokuba of the bond you two share! Remember when Joey was brainwashed by Marik the same way?"

"He's right!" said Yugi. "It was the bond between Joey and his sister that saved him."

"That's some advice," commented Noah.

"Don't mistake me," said Kaiba. "I don't plan to listen to anyone. I'll fight with my own will. D. D. Dragon returns to the field in defense mode, and I end my turn."

"Now, it's the Fifth Turn of Creation." Now, we were in a park a block away from the Kaiba Corp Building. "Now we've entered the modern age. Once I take over Kaiba Corp, I'll return the company to the way it was before. And if you don't remember, I'll remind you. I summon the fighter jet, Gradius (1200/800)!"

"_Right, I forgot,"_ I thought to myself. _"Before Kaiba entered the game industry, it made weapons."_

"Next, I equip my monster with Cyclon Laser, which gives my monster 300 more attack points and lets it trample. Plus, I'll give it Matter Leveler which gives it an extra 100 attack points each time it attacks. I destroy your dragon!"

600/6400

"And, since the D. D. Dragon returns to the field each time it's destroyed, I can just continue attacking it, wearing away your lifepoints. Now, make your move."

D. D. Dragon returned to the field, and Kaiba simply ended his turn. Now, I was beginning to worry.

"Time for the Sixth Turn of Creation! I play Gradius's Option, which has the same attack points as the other Gradius on the field. Gradius, destroy his dragon again!"

500/6400

"And I'll do it again with Gradius's Option!"

400/6400

The last one knocked Kaiba off his feet. "Mokuba, snap out of it! I need you!

"It's hopeless! You're one attack away from annihilation!"

"Stand up," yelled Joey. "Don't give up!"

"Shut up, Stupid!" Kaiba snapped as he stood up. "You can't tell me what to do!"

"You bastard!"

"Is there a dispute between you?" asked Noah. "It's a symptom of the weakness of human beings when they're about to lose."

"Mokuba!" yelled Yugi. "Noah has brainwashed you! Seto's your brother, not Noah!"

"Don't listen to him, Mokuba. They're just trying to break us apart."

"Mokuba," said Kaiba in a softer tone, "this is going to be my last turn. I can't fight you. As long as you're beside me, I can fight. Now or in the future, this won't change. There's something I never told you: you saved me when we were kids. When Gozaburo adopted us, he was merciless, forcing me to work without rest. I was ready to give up, until you inspired me, sneaking my cards to me, and drawing the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. It gave me something to strive for. I swore that day to become a person worthy of possessing a real Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

"_Now, there's a surprise. So that's why he took Selkirk Rex's Blue Eyes White Dragon. I thought he was a greedy bastard, but I didn't know it was his inspiration. Maybe I've been too hard on him."_

"Without that card, I would have been finished. Do I deserve that card, and to be your brother?" As he drew he said, "My deck connects me and Mokuba! I use my Deck Master's ability, so I can tribute one monster in order to summon my Blue Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500)!"

Mokuba snapped out of his stupor in an instant. "Seto!"

Noah looked in shock. "N-no! Seto is our enemy!"

"Get away from me, you lying phony!" With that, he pushed away from Noah and ran to Kaiba.

"You're going down, Noah!" shouted Kaiba. "Blue Eyes, white lightning attack!" Noah's Gradius was vaporized.

400/4900

"And since I destroyed the original Gradius, Gradius's Option is also destroyed!" And thus, Noah was finally defenseless.

"I love that you can do this to me, but I'm not finished yet," declared Noah. "I remove the five monsters in Shinato's Ark to increase my lifepoints!"

400/7400

"Now, it's my turn."

"Sorry, but this ends now; it's time to find out which one of us is superior," said Kaiba. "I activate my trap card, Last Turn, which requires us each to choose one monster to engage in a final battle to determine the outcome of the duel. I choose Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

"And I choose Shinato's Ark!" The dragon attacked the Ark and blew it to splinters, but within was another monster. "Now the true form of my Deck Master is revealed: Shinato, King of a Higher Plane (3300/3000)!" The monster destroyed Kaiba's, giving Noah the win. "Did you forget? This is the fateful Seventh Turn; the round of my ultimate ability!" Then he turned to light and merged with Shinato. "Did you see, father? I proved I'm better than Seto!" Mokuba ran over to Kaiba. But before they reached each other, Noah turned them both to stone. "I think I'll name the statue 'Wonderful Brotherhood.'"

I ran over, horrified that they were really turned to stone. "No…it can't end like this! We were supposed to escape this world together!"

I sensed Yugi switched with the Pharaoh again. "Noah, this doesn't prove you're the best. It shows Gozaburo that you're a coward!"

"I won fair and square," he protested.

"Kidnapping Mokuba and using him as a shield wasn't fair!" I snapped. "You're guilty of the same foul play as the Big Five. Kaiba could have easily won, but he chose the safety of his little brother over his victory."

Yugi picked up what remained of Kaiba's deck and shuffled it with his. "Kaiba still has 400 lifepoints. I challenge you to continue the duel."

"I accept," said Noah. "If you win, I'll restore Seto and Mokuba. But when you fail, I'll turn all of you to stone except one, whose body I'll escape in." Stone circles rose out of the ground under Yugi and Noah, so their duel would take place in the sky.

This was it. If there was one duel that Yugi absolutely positively had to win, it was this one. If he didn't, nothing would stop Marik.

End Chapter

Here comes Yugi's biggest challenge so far; never has he been in a duel where he started with so few lifepoints, and his opponent had so many. How can he possibly get out of this one?


	15. A Spirited Bout

"You use a strategic deck, while Kaiba uses a power deck," said Noah. "By mixing your cards together, you'll disrupt your strategy."

"Since Shinato was called to the field, the Shinato's Ark's effect disappeared, and all the cards have returned to the graveyard," said Joey. "But Yugi still has no monsters on the field, or cards in his hand!"

"I'm sure he'll find a way around it," I said. "I fight with a strategic power deck too. Of course, I had more experience using it, and I normally start my duels with lifepoint totals ten times higher than what Yugi has."

After Noah picked out a new deck he said, "You can change your Deck Master if you like."

"It's not necessary. I can feel the beat of Kaiba's and Mokuba's hearts in the cards."

400/7400

"I'll let you go first," said Noah. And it was a good thing, too. Yugi's fate depended on drawing a monster, or he'd have nothing to defend himself.

"I play Gazelle, the King of Mythical Beasts (1500/1200) in defense mode!" Whew! "I end my turn."

Noah drew. "No monsters, but I can still eliminate yours. Now, I destroy your monster with Shinato!"

200/7600

"Whenever Shinato destroys a monster, your lifepoints are cut in half. Then, that total is added to my lifepoints."

"As if Noah needs any more lifepoints!" exclaimed Tristan.

"Yugi will pull through," I said. "But I'll admit it's going to take a while. I mean, his opponent has lifepoints that are almost twice the starting amount."

Noah sighed and shook his head. "I don't understand why you wanted to duel me," he said to Yugi. "Aren't you and Seto enemies?"

"Yes, we're rivals. Maybe we're teased by the unlimited destiny of history. Even so, we'll never break the most important thing: the Duelist's Bond. I vow to use the Duelist's Bond to defeat you. I'll set a monster and end my turn."

"Then it's time to play a monster that resides in the spirit world. I summon Yata-Garasu (200/100), and attack your monster with Shinato!"

"Sorry, but my monster is Obnoxious Celtic Guardian (1400/1200), which can't be destroyed by any monster whose attack is greater than 1900 points."

"Fine," pouted Noah. "I'll activate Spring of Rebirth, which gives my 500 lifepoints each time a monster returns to my hand." To illustrate, Yata-Garasu returned to his hand and his lifepoints went up.

200/8100

"When Pegasus was designing Duel Monsters, he traveled to the mystical Orient, where he learned about Spirit Monsters, and based a series of cards on these beasts, which return to the owners' hand at the end of each turn," Noah explained. "Also, they can't be special summoned."

I groaned. "Ok, now Noah has _over _twice the starting amount of lifepoints."

"I'll set another monster and end my turn," said Yugi.

"Now, I summon Asura Priest (1700/1200)! Since it has less than 1900 attack points, it can destroy your Obnoxious Celtic Guardian." And it did by throwing several daggers at it. "And there's more where that came from, because my monster can attack all of your monsters in the same turn!"

But he got a nasty surprise when he went after Yugi's other monster, or rather Kaiba's. "Behold the Cyber Jar (900/900)! It destroys all monsters on the field. And since your Deck Master is on the field, you lose!"

Noah struggled not to be sucked into the vortex created by Cyber Jar. "No! I won't go! I activate my other Deck Master ability: Reversal!" Noah disappeared for a second. Then he reappeared in his normal form, with Shinato back on the sidelines. "Reversal lets me automatically put Shinato back on the sidelines, but I can't call it to the field again."

"Alright, then. The second effect of Cyber Jar makes us draw five cards, and special summon any monsters we draw among them. I play Sangan (1000/600) and Gamma the Magnet Warrior (1500/1800) in defense mode."

"All of the monsters I picked up are spirits, so I can't special summon them. I end my turn."

"In that case, I sacrifice my monsters – adding Big Shield Gardna to my hand for Sangan's effect – to summon Dark Magician (2500/2100)! Dark magic attack!"

200/5600

Noah was very pissed at that. "I can't forgive any hurt to me, the Creator of this world!"

"I never heard of a Creator who treated people as stepping-stones. Every soul has a home, and your soul shouldn't have gone to that steel sun. I'll release your soul with this duel."

"Just you try it! I play the Next World spell! I get to select one monster on your field, and then summon a monster with the same level. I choose Dark Magician, and bring forth Yamata Dragon (2600/3100), which destroys your monster!"

100/5600

"That's all for now." The dragon returned to Noah's hand, and Spring of Rebirth reinforced Noah's lifepoints.

100/6100

"Don't let Noah push you around!" Téa urged.

"We're all right behind you!" cheered Joey.

Yugi nodded and said, "I play Swords of Revealing Light, preventing you from attacking for three turns. Next I summon Kuriboh (300/200) and attack you directly!"

100/5800

"Did anything touch me?" mocked Noah. "I'll set a monster and end my turn."

"I'll play Big Shield Gardna (100/2600) in defense mode and switch Kuriboh to defense mode too, ending my turn."

"I'll set another monster, and one card facedown. One more turn, and your swords disappear."

Yugi seemed worried about something. "I'll set one card and end my turn."

"Too bad. It looks as though you're going to lose on my next turn," sneered Noah.

"What do you know?" Téa demanded. "Yugi's going to beat you!"

Noah turned to us, angrily. "You're clueless to think Yugi can still win."

Joey smirked. "How can you, a lonely person without any friends, possibly understand? The bond of trust we have with each other; we made the impossible into the possible."

"Oh, really?"

A bolt shot down from Noah's finger and struck Duke. When it disappeared, he was cast in stone like the Kaiba brothers. I tapped him a few times, hoping to get some response. "…He may be home, but the lights aren't on."

"Come on!" shouted Tristan as he leapt onto Duke. "Say something, man!"

"If you're so confident that he'll win, I'll put your lives into Yugi's hands. For each turn he fails to defeat me, I'll turn one of you into stone one by one. Yugi, you'll be left alone in a circle of motionless statues who were once your friends!"

"Are you sure?" I asked. "Do you really consider yourself skilled enough to go card for card against the king of games? There are only three people in this virtual word who've earned the right. Joey and I are two of them. Kaiba was the third, and the only reason you could stand up to him was because you cheated."

Noah was taken aback. "You…_still_ have faith in Yugi?"

"You wouldn't find it so hard to believe if you actually had any friends," answered Yugi.

"All I need to know about friendship is how to destroy it! It's my turn, and I activate my trap card, Pyro Clock of Destiny, which advances the duel by one turn, so Swords of Revealing Light ends a turn early. Then, I flip Otohime (0/100), whose special power lets me change the battle position of one of your monsters. I choose Kuriboh!"

I frowned. _"Oh, no. With Kuriboh in attack mode, it won't take a lot to wipe Yugi out."_

"Then, I sacrifice my monsters to summon Yamata Dragon. I destroy your Kuriboh and your lifepoints!"

"Reveal Nutrient Z!" declared Yugi. "Your attack will damage my lifepoints by at least 2000, so my lifepoints are increased by 4000 before it hits!"

1800/5800

"Just a friendly reminder, but one of your friends will turn to stone at the end of your next turn," said Noah. "Now, my Deck Master ability will raise my lifepoints."

1800/8200

"Next, I'll activate Sebek's Blessing, raising my lifepoints by the amount you just lost."

1800/10500

"And I end my turn, which returns my monster to my hand, making Spring of Rebirth award me with 500 more."

1800/11000

"_11,000 lifepoints?"_ I thought to myself. _"An amount like that is just…I can't conceive it."_

"I summon Alpha, the Magnet Warrior (1400/1700)!" declared Yugi. "And I attack you directly!"

1800/9600

"Hah!" said Noah. "I barely felt a thing. And now, another of your friends bites the dust." This time, it was Tristan who turned to stone.

I looked in disgust. "Tristan has no luck at all. First he loses his body, then he becomes a robot monkey, and now he's a robot monkey statue!"

"Dammit, Noah!" snapped Joey. "It doesn't matter how many of us you turn to stone! Yugi's going to clobber you!"

Noah grinned. "'It doesn't matter,' you say? I'm glad you feel that way, because your sister is next."

My heart stopped for several skips when he said that. "Don't…you…dare!" I demanded.

"If Yugi wants to stop me, all he has to do is defeat me. Now, I summon Inaba White Rabbit (700/500), and I use its effect to attack you directly!"

1100/9600

"As it's a spirit, it returns to my hand, and my Spring of Rebirth and Deck Master ability increases my lifepoints."

1100/10800

Shizuka panicked, clutching Joey's arm. "What now?" she asked, her voice quivering.

"Yugi can handle this freak," said Joey. I wasn't so sure anymore. If they started at 4000, it wouldn't have been so bad. But now, Yugi wouldn't be able to save Shizuka in time. But maybe _I_ could.

"It's my move, and I sacrifice my Magnet Warrior to summon Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700)! With Dark Magician in the graveyard, her attack points are increased by 300. I attack directly!"

1100/8500

"If you want to save Joey's sister, you'll have to do better than that," said Noah.

I saw the distress on Yugi's face as he said, "I can't. I end my turn."

Noah started cackling and pointed at Shizuka. I quickly moved in front of her, ready to take the hit myself. But Shizuka must've known what I was doing, and stepped forward, pushing me out of the way. The bolt struck her, and all of her became nothing at all.

"SHIZUKA!" screamed Joey as he fell to his knees.

Tears fell from my eyes. "Why…did she…" I was ready to jump in and save her, and it ended up that she saved me from my recklessness.

"Joey," said Yugi, "I'm so sorry."

Noah laughed. "If you really cared, you wouldn't have let that happen."

The aura was still there, so I stopped blubbering and stood up. "Nothing happened. She's just taking a nap while standing up. Just like the others. It's no big deal."

"What are you talking about?" asked Joey. "My sister's a rock!"

"Be that as it may, her heart is still where it always was. I understand how you feel, but she's really in less danger than she looks. She's alive; she simply not kicking."

Joey wiped his tears away and smiled a little. "Thanks, Siege."

Noah groaned. "This is turning into a bad soap opera. It's my move, and I summon Inaba White Rabbit again!"

"Not so fast!" said Yugi. "I activate Dark Renewal, letting me sacrifice your monster and my Big Shield Gardna to bring my Dark Magician back from the graveyard!"

"Drat! Well, I'll set one card and end my turn."

"In that case, I use the Dark Magic Ritual, sacrificing Valkyrion the Magnet Warrior from my hand to summon Magician of Black Chaos (2800/2600)! Together, my monsters have 7300 attack points, which is almost enough to wipe you out!"

"Impressive, but I activate Chaos Barrier Field, which prevents you from declaring an attack, and forces your strongest monster to battle your weakest!" The Magician of Black Chaos destroyed the Dark Magician Girl.

300/9300

Noah applauded. "We don't have to be hostile towards each other. If you will join with me, I'll free your friends. Seto is your enemy anyway, and you shouldn't care what happens to him."

"Yugi, NO!" snapped Joey. "Kaiba might be our enemy, but the feelings between the brothers are the same as the feelings between us! I think Tristan, Duke, and Shizuka would agree. Please fight?"

"Who asked you?" snapped Noah as he turned Joey to stone.

Now, it was Téa's turn to snap. "Noah! Even though you've gained knowledge, you're still just a pitiful little boy who denies what he can't have!"

"Normal people can't understand my greatness. I'll ask someone chosen by victory; Yugi. Well?"

"Use power to force people? Who would accept you? How stupid."

That touched a nerve. "Fine, be that way. I'll set a monster and two cards facedown. Since you're going to lose anyway, I'll tell you what one of the cards is. It's the trap, Groundbreaking. I'll use it as soon as your turn starts to bring back Inaba White Rabbit, whose attack is enough to wipe out the rest of your lifepoints. I end my turn."

"Very well. I draw!"

"And I activate Groundbreaking, getting back my Inaba White Rabbit."

"Too bad. I play Card Destruction, forcing us to discard our hands and draw new ones. Now, I attack your monster with Magician of Black Chaos!"

"It's Otohime, and since you flipped it, I'll switch your Dark Magician to defense mode. And since you destroyed it, I use my Vessel of Illusion trap, which lets me place a monster token on the field." Looking down at us he says, "Well, look who's left; two friends, soon to be only one. Who's next to go? Hmm…ladies first!"

A second later, Téa was little more than a statue. "I'm so glad you spared me, Noah-san," I said in mock honorifics. "Now I'm privileged to be the one who sees your destruction."

"Are you an idiot? Have you forgotten how many lifepoints I have, and how few Yugi has!? …Well, no matter. It's just as well there's one of you remaining, so I have the pleasure of demonstrating my power. I play Change of Heart, taking control of the Dark Magician. Then I sacrifice it with my token to summon Hino-Kagu-Tsuchi (2800/2900)! Then I play Flaming Fist, which raises my monster's attack by 200 for one turn. I destroy the Magician of Black Chaos!" The force of the impact knocked Yugi to the ground.

100/10000

"Finally, I play Spiritual Energy Settle Machine, which lets me keep my spirit monsters on the field by sacrificing a card each turn." Yugi struggled to his feet, but Noah said, "You might as well stay down. It's all over. You have no monsters on the fields, no cards in your hand, and only one friend to cheer you on."

But I could tell it wasn't true. Yugi's aura exploded, combined with the auras of the others. Yugi rose to his feet. "I'll never give up!"

I nodded. _"This is it. Yugi, I know you can do this. From my faith, I gain power; take my power and take him out! __Heart…of…THE CARDS!"_

"Guide me!" yelled Yugi as he drew. "I activate Card of Sanctity! Now, we must draw until we hold six cards in my hands, and I'll draw one for every one of my friends!" I watched in complete bewilderment. Each time he drew, a fraction of his aura flowed into the card. I never saw anything like it; excluding Card of Sanctity, he performed six consecutive Destiny Draws! Truly, he was the King of Games. "First, I play Monster Reborn to revive the Blue Eyes White Dragon (3000/2500) you destroyed in your duel against Kaiba. Then I play Polymerization to fuse it with the other two in my hand to form Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon (4500/3800)! Then I play Quick Attack, letting me attack with it immediately. Neutron blast attack!"

100/8300

Noah smirked. "Nice move, but it's not over yet. Now, say goodbye to your last friend-"

"Not so fast. I haven't finished attacking yet. Now, I activate De-fusion, separating my monster into three Blue Eyes White Dragons!"

"WHAT?" Noah wasn't cocky anymore. He was frantically searching his hand for something that could save him. "W-w-wait! There must be something I can do!"

Yugi calmly said, "Now, for Kaiba, Mokuba, and my other friends as well…YOU'RE DONE! Dragons, wipe him out!"

"NOOOOO!"

100/0

End Chapter

Form of…the biggest comeback in duel monsters history. Shape of…things are _finally_ looking up! R&R...and forgive the Wonder Twins reference.


	16. Escape from the Virtual Prison!

It all happened in less than a second. When Noah's lifepoints hit zero, everyone was turned to normal – save Tristan, who was still a robot monkey – and Yugi and Noah returned to ground level. I put my arms around Shizuka. "Thank goodness you're alright! I don't know what I would've done if Yugi hadn't won the duel!"

Shizuka blushed. "I…um…you're welcome?"

I let her go and asked, "Why did you push me out of the way? I was going to save you from Noah."

"You're always saving me, Siege. After all, you saved Joey from Marik's mind control. And the fact that I can see; I wouldn't have gone through with the surgery if you didn't help Joey get to the hospital. It was just a small way of repaying you for all you've done."

"…I guess that makes us even."

Tristan angrily jumped up and down. "Hey! _I'm_ the one who drove Joey to the hospital!"

"Let's not get bogged down in semantics."

I looked over and saw Yugi standing over the defeated Noah. "I didn't lose because I was alone! …Don't look at me that way!" Noah jumped up and grabbed Yugi. "Give me your body!" But Noah was pushed back by some invisible force. "WHAT!? Who _are _you!?"

"Hey!" snapped Joey. "Why don't you try that with me!?"

"Hold on, he's just a kid!" protested Shizuka.

"I daresay he's more of a monster," I said. "But I'll admit he's a young monster."

"It's time you set us free," said Yugi.

Noah smirked. "Your real bodies are where they've been ever since they arrived. Everything here is virtual, and your real bodies are in VR pods."

"So that's why everything here seems so real," I said.

"That's right," said Kaiba. "We didn't fall into some virtual vortex. We were knocked unconscious and locked in the VR pods. Everything that's happened simply happened in our minds."

Suddenly, the sky was filled with dark clouds. And a loud, booming voice said, "Noah, you've failed me for the last time!"

Kaiba turned pale. "I know that voice. It can't be!" A face appeared in the clouds. It was a face that I also recognized. It was a face from the picture Kaiba found. It was the face of Gozaburo Kaiba.

"Why are you here!?" demanded Noah. "You're dead!"

"Yes, my body is dead. But my spirit is still alive. I had my own mind digitized when Seto disgraced me by taking over my company. I wanted revenge."

"He's really persistent," muttered Kaiba.

Tears came to Noah's eyes. "Father, I'm so happy to see you! I've been so alone!"

"You're useless to me now," snarled Gozaburo.

"Joke's over," said Kaiba. "All right, Gozaburo. Tell me your stupid intention."

"You haven't changed at all. Still so proud, Seto. All right, I'll tell you everything. At first, I just wanted to save Noah when he died. I wanted him to inherit Kaiba Corporation. But the virtual copy isn't real, and can't live like a human being. I remembered Noah's 'project,' when he determined that the Kaiba Corp weapons could destroy the world in thirty days, leaving only three percent of human beings alive. There was a big gap between us. That's when you came along."

"You adopted me to test Noah," determined Kaiba. "If Noah could beat me, it would be proof that the virtual world was superior."

"No. You were to be Noah's container. I only adopted you to find a body for Noah."

Téa flinched. "That's not something a normal person would think of!"

I nodded in agreement. "No wonder Kaiba has issues."

"Ironically," continued Gozaburo, "_I _was the one who was hurt, when Seto stole Kaiba Corporation from me. So I copied my memories into the computer before I died. Since then, Seto was no longer to be Noah's container. I planned to take Seto's body for myself."

Noah trembled. "You used me!"

"The situation has changed, and Seto is to blame. Hate him if you have to."

"You bastard," snarled Kaiba.

"Your body isn't necessary now. Even without a body, I can hack into the Internet and control the world from the Kaiba Corp computer network."

"That's stupid! What can you do without a body!?"

"The undersea fortress you're trapped in was originally built as a base for launching missiles. It holds weapons aimed at all the major cities of the world."

"That's the most ridiculous idea I've ever heard!" snapped Noah.

"I'm surprised _you_ feel that way. It was originally your idea, remember? I've deleted all the exits from the virtual world. Just live with the flowers in this virtual garden. You'll be immortal, not feeling pain or hunger, and live in paradise. Kaiba Corporation belongs to me, and I won't give it to anyone!" And then he disappeared.

I groaned. "Super. The whole world is about to be destroyed. We're the only ones who know it, and we're stuck here." I glared at Noah, cracking my knuckles. "Now, who can I possibly vent my frustrations on, if not the brat who's responsible? Take your time with your answer; you have an eternity."

"We have to escape," he said. "I know the way out."

"Is there any reason I should trust you?"

"Who else knows this world like me?"

I lowered my fists. "For want of a better plan, I guess we have little choice. Lead on, but don't let me lose sight of your hands."

**00000000**

I don't know for how long we walked, since day and night wasn't clearly visible in the virtual world. Eventually, Noah led us to a cave. At the end was a series of computers. Saying nothing, he started typing quickly. He stopped after a minute to say, "It looks as though father really _did_ close all the exits."

"There really isn't any other way out?" I asked.

"Every virtual reality program has more than one emergency exit," growled Kaiba. "Think harder!"

Noah started laughing. "What's wrong? Don't you want to stay here a while? I don't see a point, returning to the real world." He spun around with a crazed look. "Father is going to turn it into a barren wasteland soon, so let's sit in the shade and watch the destruction unfold!"

He continued to laugh, even as Mokuba ran up and shook him by the shoulders. "How can you talk like that!? Gozaburo has abandoned you!" Something made Mokuba jump back in surprise, but I didn't see what it was.

"Wait a minute!" exclaimed Noah. "I remember another exit I created myself, that leads directly to the real world. You can escape and warn the world of Gozaburo's plan."

As we walked, I was getting a nagging doubt. Naturally, it came from Selkirk Rex. **_"Do you really trust this Noah?"_**

"_That depends. How long have you been eavesdropping on me?"_

"_**Long enough to realize you're actually just a computer simulation of your real self, and something about Gozaburo Kaiba planning to blow up the world. I'll ask again if you trust Noah."**_

"_Not as far as I can throw him; I know the phrase is different, but I can probably throw that squirt pretty far if I want to. Regardless, he's the only chance I have of escaping."_

"_**I sure hope you **_**can **_**trust him. Now, let's talk about the Battle City finals. Can you defeat Yugi and Marik?"**_

"_I guess you weren't there for the part when Yugi performed seven consecutive Destiny Draws."_

"_**SEVEN!? Even **_**I **_**couldn't do that."**_

"_Chances are it'll be down to Yugi and Marik in the end. I know one thing for certain: if we can't defeat Marik, nobody can."_

He disappeared when we arrived at a huge door. "That this is it," said Noah. "Once you walk through, you'll wake up in the real world." I stepped through, and was surrounded by a bright light…

**00000000**

I looked menacingly at Kaiba. "I know of a man. He may or may not be a Ghoul, and if you beat him…" I frowned when it dawned on me. "Wait, we already had this discussion. What's going on here?"

Kaiba looked around, apparently feeling the same sense of déjà vu. "Noah. He had absolutely no intention of returning us to the real world."

Another flash appeared, and I stood in the virtual Domino plaza with my friends. "I swear, I'm going to wring Noah's scrawny little neck."

Joey angrily kicked a can and yelled, "That little twerp double-crossed us again! I knew we shouldn't have trusted him. Noah's toast!"

"Forget toast. When _I_ get through with him, he'll wish he was deep-fat fried."

"It's not that simple," said Yugi. "Mokuba's missing too!" I looked around, surprised that I didn't notice he was missing. Then again, he's shorter than Yugi.

"I'll bet that Noah stole his body to go back to the real world," said Duke.

Téa hugged herself in discomfort. "I hope Mokuba's alright."

"Kaiba isn't here either," Yugi pointed out. "Maybe Mokuba is with him. Anyway, we should find Noah. Without him, we can't escape the virtual world."

"He's right," said Tristan before he made some monkey noises. It seemed he was becoming more monkeylike by the second.

Suddenly, a creature resembling the Skull Knight appeared near us. Several more appeared, as did various other creatures. I quickly noticed one of them was too close to Shizuka. "Stay back, beast!" I exclaimed as I summoned Tsukuyomi. "Blast that thing to oblivion!"

As the Skull Knight disappeared, Yugi and Joey summoned Curse of Dragon and Ax Raider respectively to battle the other monsters. Shizuka turned to me and blushed. "You saved me again."

"Someone in need takes priority over everything else. It's even easier if it's somebody I like." I spun to another group of monsters and summoned Amazoness Swordswoman. "Smack them down!"

With the combined efforts of Joey, Yugi and me, we cleared the monsters away in a matter of minutes. We ducked into an alley to catch our breaths. "It looks like we're safe for now," said Joey.

The second he finished saying that, another monster appeared. "Joey, don't ever say that again. Go, Reflect bounder!" The monster was destroyed, but several more appeared. Strong as my monster was, we decided a retreat was in order. The monsters that appeared grew progressively stronger. My Reflect Bounder was eventually destroyed, and I called forth Goblin Attack Force and Archfiend Soldier to pick up where it left off. Of course, with the addition of Yugi's Dark Magician and Joey's Rocket Warrior, it seemed as though my monsters were redundant.

As we battled, we heard Noah's voice. "I borrowed Mokuba's body, and am now in the real world."

"You cheated us and went to the real world by yourself!" snapped Duke.

"You'd better give Mokuba's body back!" snapped Téa.

"Forget that," said Tristan. "Give me _my_ body back!"

"There's no time to explain, but I'll put everything right," said Noah. "There's a missile coming, and you must escape before the whole fortress, including the virtual world, is destroyed in eight minutes!"

I shuddered. "Are you serious? A missile is really going to nuke this place?"

"Yes. The only available exit is in the Domino arcade!"

Téa frowned. "Can we trust him?"

Joey growled. "Noah, that bastard."

Tristan hopped around in a panic. "I don't want to die!"

"We have to trust Noah on this one," said Yugi.

"He's right," I admitted. "As much as I hate to admit it, Noah's in charge." With that, we quickly ran to the arcade.

However, we were stopped by monsters about two blocks away from it. "Get out of my town!" demanded Joey.

I scoffed. "Some can't wait to die!"

"Siege, do me a favor," said Yugi. "Take the others to the arcade. Joey, Duke and I will hold these guys off."

"Yugi…" I couldn't help but smile. I've never seen such an honorable fighting spirit in one so small. "Ok. I'll protect them with my life."

"I'm not going without you, Joey!" protested Shizuka.

I put my hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. He knows what he's doing, and he has Yugi to protect him even if he doesn't."

"I'll be back," said Joey in an unconvincing Arnold Schwarzenegger voice.

"Yeah, we'll smash them!" said Tristan.

"I think not," I said as I picked him up. "Yugi, you'd better be right behind me, or I'll return and drag you back by the ear." Turning to the others I said, "Let's move!"

As we ran we encountered a few more monsters, but they were nothing my Guardian Angel Joan couldn't handle. Once we arrived in the arcade Noah said, "Go to the dance machine in the back!" We all stood on the machine. A second later, I found myself lying down in a VR pod in an unfamiliar room. The pod opened and I hopped out. My deck and duel disk weren't tampered with, and my PDA and knife were also in their rightful places.

Shizuka looked around and said, "We all made it back without any problems." Tristan was making monkey noises until she pointed out, "You're not a robot monkey anymore."

"He doesn't look all that different," Téa joked.

"The others are ready," I heard Noah say. I turned and saw Mokuba at a computer. Then I remembered it was really Noah in that body. "It seems everybody made it to the arcade."

Duke and Joey woke up, though Joey tried to stand up before the glass door opened. I turned to Noah and asked, "Where are the others?"

"Mokuba's still in the virtual world, and Seto's still dueling with Gozaburo."

"I can't believe Kaiba's dueling when the missile's about to launch!" snapped Joey.

"I understand it, though," I said. "Considering everything Kaiba went through with his stepfather, it's forgivable that he wants payback. I'll admit that he picked an inopportune moment to do so, though."

Noah spoke into a microphone and said, "Yugi, please go to the Kaiba Corp building and bring Seto back. I'll create a shortcut there and a new exit."

"Sure thing," said Yugi.

"Wait!" argued Joey. "I'll go with you!"

"No, I'm going alone. Please, just go with everyone to get ready to escape."

"…Fine, but you'd better come back. We haven't had our duel yet."

"My thoughts exactly," I said.

"Alright," replied Yugi.

"Why do you want to save Kaiba so badly, Noah?" asked Téa. "I thought you hated him."

"Mokuba's body keeps urging me to save his brother," Noah answered. The computer announced that there were four minutes before the satellite attack. "Time's running out. Hurry to the blimp!"

We ran off, but I stopped at the door. "You're the only one who can get those three out of there now. It's all up to you."

"I know."

"It's not much, but I'll make sure your story lives on." I winked. "Once this is all over, I'll record everything that happened in my PDA."

Noah returned the wink. "Thanks." With that, I ran to the blimp, where I impatiently waited at the entrance with the others.

"Come on…" I muttered. "You can't let it end like this." Suddenly, Yugi, Kaiba, and Mokuba came into view, making a mad dash to us as the blimp started to take off. "HURRY, GUYS!" I shrieked to them. Mokuba started falling behind, but Kaiba picked him up and tossed him to the ramp, where he landed on Duke. Kaiba jumped after, as Joey and I pulled up Yugi. Then we ran inside and closed the door. We cleared the platform, just as the missile hit.

The shockwave hit the ship, tossing about everyone within except Kaiba, who remained upright. Once we regained our footing, we followed Kaiba who was running as quickly as possible to the cockpit. He hopped to the steering wheel and took control. Then he pressed a button that made the blimp part fall away, transforming the ship into a jet which rocketed away from a fiery blast. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "Thank the God cards, we've made it! And strangely enough, we couldn't have done it without Noah."

"When you think about," said Joey, "Noah was a poor kid too."

Téa nodded. "All he wanted was to be loved by his father."

In the corner of my eye, I saw Mokuba throw white lilies overboard, presumably in memory of his half-brother. A tear fell from my eye. _"Lucky you, Mokuba. For a few minutes, you had another brother who truly cared for you."_

"Noah and Gozaburo were stupid," said Kaiba. "It's time to get back to business: the Battle City finals on Alcatraz!"

I walked back to my room without another word. I sat down on my bed and looked out the window to the pile of scrap that used to hold the virtual world. "Farewell, Noah." I pulled out my PDA and glanced at the screen. "Noah? Are you there?" There was no response. _"Damn. I gave him the opportunity to save himself by uploading into my PDA. Why did he stay behind?"_

Selkirk Rex appeared again and said, **_"Perhaps he didn't see any point to it. His body was gone, and he had no other way back to the real world."_**

_"What is the ability to sit back and watch yourself die when you know you can't stop it? Do you call it bravery, or stupidity?"_ I stood up. _"The submission to fate; that's not my way, and it never will be. Destiny may have chosen Yugi to battle Marik, but I'm stronger than that. I will win all three God Cards, and become the undisputed Duel Monsters champion of the world!"  
_

End chapter

With the madness of the virtual world behind them, the duelists make their way to Alcatraz Island, a battlefield destined to determine who'd obtain the Egyptian God Cards. But will the final victory save the world, or leave it shrouded in darkness? R&R, please.


	17. A Battle Royale!

After my chat with Selkirk Rex, I strode over to Yugi's room. I knocked a couple of times. "Yugi, I need to speak with you."

Yugi quickly opened the door. "Come on in, Siege."

I did so. I made myself comfy by leaning on the wall. "After everything we've been through, it's time I told you the full truth of things. First off, my name isn't Siege."

"Yeah, I kinda figured. So, what's your real name?"

"My name is Loki Admin. For the better part of my life, I learned how to duel from Selkirk Rex."

"He was one of the former world champions!" exclaimed Yugi. "You really learned to duel from him?"

I nodded. "And once I'm strong enough to defeat him, I'll become the new Selkirk Rex. That's our way. Now, how about you? Aren't you going to introduce me to your pharaoh friend?"

"How did you know about-"

"I've worked for Marik, remember? The main part of his scheme was to acquire the pharaoh's power, but he never mentioned the pharaoh by name. Plus, I can see him standing next to you." Bowing to the pharaoh I asked, "Won't you tell me your name?"

"I've long since forgotten my real name," he replied. "You may call me Yami."

"Yami. A dark name indeed, and it suits you." I frowned. "I know I've said this before, but the fate of the world depends on how we get paired up in the finals. The only things that can possibly stand against the Winged Dragon of Ra are the other two God Cards. That means we have to get paired up together if we wish to overpower Marik."

"I know. We have to duel each other to prepare for the final battle. Yugi and I will come at you with all the power I have."

I smiled. "And I'll do the same. My deck is vastly superior to yours, but your faith in the cards obviously exceeds mine, as I saw in the battle against Noah. This will be a match to remember, my friends." As I walked to the door I said, "I think it goes without saying, but I'm sorry I joined the Ghouls."

"It's ok," replied Yugi. "Besides, you wouldn't have learned about the pairing rules in advance if you hadn't joined them. Plus, you were able to get to Domino pier in time to save me."

"Heh! I never thought of it like that before. Thanks a lot, Yugi." I stepped outside, and looked at my pendant. _"It's coming soon, Sensei. My duel with Yugi will be the clash of a lifetime."_

"_**I know. In fact, I'm going to be there to witness your battle."**_

"_Really? How are you going to get here?"_

"**_I'm already here. I sneaked on board Kaiba Craft 3. Turn around."_** I did, and there he was. "Surprise."

"Damn you, Sensei. Well, I'm glad you're here. How did you sneak aboard?"

"I bumped into Ishizu, and she used her magic to bring me aboard." He smiled. "I've been monitoring your progress ever since you came to Battle City. I'm very impressed with how strong you've become."

"Thanks." I got down on my knee. "Sensei…I'm sorry. I lost track of the true spirit of the duelist since I joined the Ghouls."

He chuckled. "I don't believe that. You just lost sight of it for a little while. But even with the darkness you submerge yourself in, beams of light always shot through. I know this for a fact," he said, tapping on my pendant.

An announcement played that we were going to land shortly. "It's show time."

**00000000**

When we stepped out – and after I introduced Sensei to the others – we gathered at the base of the Duel Tower. "This island is the site of the original Kaiba Corporation, but I tore it down," said Kaiba. "Now I'll defeat Yugi at the top of my Duel Tower."

"Not if I defeat him first," I answered.

He made no reply. Instead, he started to lead us inside. We stopped when we heard someone say, "It's a pleasant view. Don't you agree, Pharaoh?" I looked up to Marik, who stood atop a mountain of rubble.

Sensei shivered. "_That's_ Marik? I can see why you were so frightened of him."

"I want to get on with the duels! When will I find out who my next victim is?"

"Chill out!" snapped Mokuba. "You'll find out inside the Duel Tower."

When we entered, a man in a suit announced, "The second half of the Battle City finals will take place here. The four finalists must each choose one of the doors; don't be concerned, as there is no difference between the doors."

After a nod goodbye to Selkirk Rex, I entered one of the doors, and it closed behind me. There was dueling station within, like the ones in the duel stadiums. I took my place, and it rose like an elevator as I stood on it. Once it stopped, a door opened in front of me, and the platform moved forward a few feet.

I was twenty feet in the air in an octagonal room, directly across from Kaiba, with Marik and Yugi to the sides. The spectators stood below us. The announcer continued, "This preliminary duel is to decide the match-ups for the semi-finals. You will all duel against each other in a battle royale, and as you lose life points, your dueling stations will rise. The first two duelists to reach the top will meet in the first semi-final duel, and the other two will fight in the second duel. You'll each begin with 4000 life points, and any player can attack any of the others. Now, connect your Duel Disks to the monitors at your stations."

I smiled. _"Excellent. Yugi and I want to duel each other, and Kaiba wants to duel Marik. The only maverick in the duel is Marik, so I should probably deal with him first. …Ha! I just realized you can't spell maverick without Marik!"_

"Now," said the announcer, "it's time to determine which duelist will go first. Each of you will pick a card out of your deck, and the order will be determined by the highest attack strengths. However, you can't put the card you choose back in your deck."

We chose our cards: I chose Tsukuyomi, Kaiba chose Des Gardius, Yugi chose Feral Imp, and Marik chose Rekunga. Thus, the order was Kaiba, Marik, Yugi, and then me. Well, best for last, I suppose.

Loki/Yugi/Marik/Kaiba  
4000/4000/4000/4000

"I'll set a card and summon Vorse Raider (1900/1200)!" said Kaiba. "That's all."

"For my turn," said Marik, "I'll play Newdoria (1200/800) in defense mode."

"I'll play Big Shield Gardna (100/2600) in defense mode and place two cards facedown," said Yugi.

"I summon Black Stego (1200/2000), and place one card facedown," I declared. "That's all for now."

"You're going down," Kaiba said to me. "Or more accurately, up! Vorse Raider, destroy Siege's monster!"

I smirked. "You fell for it, as I predicted you would. My monster's special effect switches it to defense mode whenever it's attacked."

4000/4000/4000/3900

Kaiba grunted in frustration as his platform rose. "You'll pay for that on my next turn."

Marik made his move. "I'll set one card and summon Lord Poison (1500/1000). I attack Vorse Raider with Newdoria! It kills my monster, but its special effect also wipes out yours! Then, I play Spell of Pain, which transfers my battle damage to another duelist. I choose Loki!"

3300/4000/4000/3900

"You're holding a grudge, aren't you?" I accused as my platform rose.

"My turn," said Yugi. "I sacrifice my monster to summon Beast of Gilfor (2200/2500)! I attack Kaiba directly!"

"Nice try," said Kaiba. "I activate Attack Guidance Armor, which lets me redirect your attack to any other monster on the field. And I choose Lord Poison!"

"I don't think so," said Marik. "I use Mirror Force, which will destroy your monster, Pharaoh!"

"I activate my trap, Seven Tools of the Bandit!" Yugi replied. "I'll pay 1000 lifepoints to negate your Mirror Force." The attack went through, and Marik's lifepoints suffered.

3300/3000/3300/3900

"_It's time,"_ I thought. _"I have a feeling my next card will let me wipe Yugi out, and secure my loss as well. Only one way to find out…"_ I drew. "First, I activate Heavy Storm, blowing away all traps and spells on the field. Then I summon Injection Fairy Lily (400/1500)!"

A stray thought made me realize I could just as easily take out Marik and secure a duel against him. However, I'd probably lose that duel, and consequently screw Yugi over in the following round. I couldn't live with either. "I pay 2000 lifepoints to increase my monster's attack by 3000, and attack Yugi directly!"

1300/0/3300/3900

Yugi instantly rose to the top. "And that's all I can do. Now, hit me with your best shot, Kaiba!"

"Sounds like a death wish. Well, your wish is my command. I summon X-Head Cannon (1800/1500) and destroy your Injection Fairy Lily, along with the rest of your lifepoints!"

0/0/3300/3900

Once I met Yugi at the top I joked, "Fancy meeting you here."

Yugi smiled. "Nicely done. Are you ready to find out who's worthy enough to face the Winged Dragon of Ra?"

"You'd better believe it. Just don't take it personally if I knock you off the tower with my extraordinary skill."

"Likewise."

The announcer called out, "This duel is over, and the match-ups for the semi-finals have been decided. The first duel will be Yugi vs. Siege, followed by Kaiba vs. Marik." A second later, our platforms were launched to the top of the tower.

End Chapter

At last, Loki tests his might against the King of Games himself. But what will become of Kaiba when he faces off against Marik? R&R!


	18. Yugi vs Loki: Fury of the God Cards

When Yugi and I climbed out of our stations, the spectators were already there. "What did I tell you, Téa?" I asked. "One of your friends is definitely going to make it to the finals."

Téa shrugged. "You were right. But I kind of hoped Joey would be in your place."

"Understood. It's a shame that Joey was crushed, torn apart, and blasted in his duel against Kaiba."

"HEY!" snapped Joey. "It didn't exactly go down like that."

"Lighten up. It's only a joke." I glanced around. "I prefer this to Kaiba Craft 3. The wind current is much less severe. So, where's Shizuka?"

"She's at the blimp, looking after Mai," answered Tristan.

"Aw, that's too bad. I was hoping to seduce her with my magnificent technique."

"SAY WHAT?" roared Duke, Tristan and Joey.

"Well, now I know who _you're_ going to root for," I said with a grin. "Regardless, you've only seen a fraction of my power so far. Against Yugi, I'll call forth powers the likes of which you've never seen! Feel free to cover your eyes if it gets too scary."

Once the announcer and the other two duelists arrived, the man in the suit said, "It's time to begin the duel!"

The platform Yugi and I stood upon rose several feet. "Let me ask you something before we get started," I said to Yugi. "Can you face the wrath of Loki Admin? Can you take the full power of the Selkirk Rex legacy?"

"And then some," he said as he activated his Duel Disk.

I activated mine and replied, "We'll see about that. I may not have a Millennium Item, but I'm certainly not powerless!"

Then we said one final word. "DUEL!"

4000/4000

"_Finally, I'm facing off against the legendary Yugi Moto. It's my chance to become the new King of Games. Nothing personal, Yugi, but I'm going to crush you."_ "I'll start by placing one card facedown and a monster in defense mode," I said. "I end my turn."

"Very well. I call forth the Queen's Knight (1500/1600)! Then I'll set one card, and attack your monster!"

"The good news is that you destroyed it," I said, flipping my monster. "The bad news is that it's the Penguin Soldier (750/500), which means I can return your monster to your hand."

Yugi frowned. "Nice move. I end my turn."

"Alright. I'll set another card and summon Reflect Bounder (1700/1000). I attack you directly!"

"Not so fast! I use the Spellbinding Circle, which prevents your monster from attacking or changing its position."

I grinned. "This is the kind of duel I've been praying for, Yugi. Two turns have passed, and we haven't even inflicted a point of damage to each other. Make your move!"

As he drew he said, "That'll change this turn. I activate Graceful Charity, letting me draw three cards and discard two. Then, I use Monster Reborn to revive the Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700) I just discarded with Graceful Charity's effect!"

"Not that card!" I growled. _"It's one of his most famous cards. And to make matters worse, it reminds me of Mana. Yugi, don't you dare make me destroy that card."_

"Next, I summon Queen's Knight! Now, I destroy your Reflect Bounder with Dark Magician Girl! Dark burning attack!" As he stated, his monster shattered mine to pieces. However, he was in for a nasty surprise.

3700/2000

Yugi frowned. "What's this? I lost half my lifepoints!"

I winked. "Didn't you know that it's bad luck to break a mirror? When Reflect Bounder is attacked, it makes you lose an amount of lifepoints equal to your monster's attack points. Then my monster's destroyed. You realize that I plan to take full advantage of any mistakes you make, right?"

"Nice move, but you're wide open right now! Queen's Knight, attack directly!"

"That's fine by me, because I discard Kuriboh from my hand, making the damage zero."

"Very well. I end my turn."

I heard Duke say, "Yugi had better think of something. One more turn like that, and it's over!"

"And don't you forget it," I replied. "I summon Amazoness Swordswoman (1500/1600) and set one card facedown. Go ahead."

"Very well. Now, it's time you faced the wrath of Slifer the Sky Dragon."

I raised my eyebrow. "What? But you don't have enough monsters to sacrifice."

"When I used Graceful Charity, I discarded Giant Soldier of Stone. Now, I remove it from the game to special summon Rock Spirit (1700/1000)."

"Uh-oh."

"First, I'll have my Rock Spirit destroy your Swordswoman!"

3700/1800

"My monster's effect means you take the damage I would've received," I explained.

"I know," he replied. "That's why I destroyed it with a weaker monster first. And now, I sacrifice all three of my monsters to summon Slifer the Sky Dragon (X000/X000)!"

My eyes nearly popped out of my head when the monster appeared on the field. "So _this_ is how it feels to face Slifer the Sky Dragon. It's pretty nerve-wracking, but it's nothing compared to the Winged Dragon of Ra. Besides, your monster only has 3000 attack points, since you only have three cards in your hand."

"Then let's see what you've got. Keep in mind that my monster's second mouth will take away 2000 points from any monster you play face-up from whatever mode it's in. And if its points hit zero from its effect, the monster is destroyed."

"I could never forget that. I summon Goblin Attack Force (2300/0)! It has enough points to withstand your monster's effect." Though only barely. "That ends my turn."

Yugi drew. "Now, my monster has 4000 attack points. That's more than enough to destroy your monster and wipe you out."

"You got him on the ropes now, Yugi!" cheered Joey.

"Incorrect as usual, Joey," I said. "I play Spirit Barrier and Astral Barrier! Astral Barrier makes all of your attacks direct attacks, while Spirit Barrier reduces the damage to zero if there's a monster on my field. Slifer may only be affected by trap cards for one turn, but that's ok, since he can only attack once per turn anyway."

"I know, but I'll find some way around it," Yugi vowed. "But for now, I'll end my turn."

"Good. Now, I play Card of Sanctity, forcing us to draw until we each hold six cards in our hands!"

Yugi frowned. "What? Why are you letting me draw cards when you know it only makes Slifer stronger?"

"Because I also know that no matter how many attack points it receives, it still can't hurt me as long as my Barrier combo is on the field," I answered. "Next, I'll set one monster, switch my Goblin Attack Force to defense mode, and end my turn."

"I play one card facedown and set two cards. Go ahead."

"_It looks like we're both preparing for the arrival of Obelisk the Tormentor,"_ I thought. _"But in the end, the only one truly prepared for him is the one holding him. _"I play Mausoleum of the Emperor and end my turn."

"I flip my Magician of Faith (300/400), returning a spell card to my hand. Then I'll set one card and end my turn."

I drew. Then I started chuckling. "It's show-time, Yugi. Guess what card I drew."

"You drew your Egyptian God Card?"

"Good guess. Now, I activate Mausoleum of the Emperor, paying 3000 lifepoints to summon Obelisk the Tormentor (4000/4000)!" A flash of lighting and the screech of thunder served as my monster's entrance.

700/1800

My God Card gave me more than enough confidence in my abilities. "Yugi," I said, "We now both have our strongest monsters on the field. What can your God Card do against the awesome might of mine?"

"It can do plenty!" he replied. "You triggered the special effect of Slifer! Now, it'll drain 2000 attack points from your monster!"

"But not for long. I play my trap card, Reverse Trap! For the duration of the turn, all points that go up come down, and visa versa. That means your effect _increases_ my monster's attack points by 2000!"

Yugi grunted in frustration. "With only four cards in my hand, your monster is stronger than mine by 2000 points!"

I smiled. "That's right. Rather than fight the power of an Egyptian God Card, I'll use it to my advantage. That's the secret to victory. Obelisk, destroy Slifer with your fist of fate!"

"I don't think so. I play Soul Shield, which negates your monster's attack at the cost of half my lifepoints."

700/900

I smirked. "At this point, it's a small price to pay."

"…"

"Not even a snicker? You need to lighten up. It's important to have a sense of humor when you're about to lose."

"Say what?" asked Joey. "You're bluffing."

"Am I? I have two monsters on the field, besides Obelisk. And his special effect lets me sacrifice the other two monsters to clear Yugi's field and inflict 4000 damage." I turned back to Yugi. "Sorry, but you're done. I sacrifice my monsters to wipe out your cards and your lifepoints!" With one huge blast, Yugi's lifepoints were gone.

700/0

"I'm sorry it had to end in such an undignified…WHAT!?" Yugi had a Dark Magician (2500/2100) on the field. "How's this possible!? You have no more lifepoints!"

"I used my trap card, Relay Soul, which automatically activates when my lifepoints go to zero. It lets me summon any monster in my deck. Now, you can only win if you destroy my Dark Magician."

700/**0**

I chuckled again. "I should've known. Only you can pull off something like that." I saw the Lightning Vortex in my hand, knowing I could easily win the duel right there. However, I wanted to give him one last chance to turn things around. "If you don't win on your next turn, you lose," I said. "Let's see what you've got. Keep in mind you still can't touch me, since my Barrier combo is still in effect."

"I will. And _you _keep in mind that all effects on your God Card are now negated, meaning it's back down to 4000 attack points. First, I use Spell Absorption, which increases my lifepoints whenever a spell is played. Next, I play Monster Reborn to revive Dark Magician Girl!"

700/**500**

"Then I play Necromancy!" A second later, Penguin Soldier, Reflect Bounder, Amazoness Swordswoman, and Kuriboh appeared on my field.

700/**1000**

"Necromancy special summons four random monsters from your graveyard to the field in defense mode," explained Yugi. "But each time I destroy one, one of your monsters loses 600 attack points."

"So you plan to weaken my Obelisk enough to destroy it?" I guessed. "It's clever, but there are three tiny drawbacks. Firstly, both of your monsters can only attack once, meaning by the time my monster's weak enough to be destroyed, you won't be able to attack anymore. Secondly, my Barrier combo will prevent any attacks against my monsters anyway. And thirdly, once you end your turn, I'll still have enough monsters to sacrifice for Obelisk's effect."

Yugi grinned. "Actually, I intend to wipe out all your monsters right now."

I raised my eyebrow. "How do you plan to pull that off?"

"I'll do it by sacrificing Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl, in order to summon Sorcerer of Dark Magic (3200/2800)!"

"Oh no!" _"His monster's effect lets him negate and destroy my trap cards! That means my Barrier Combo is useless! But how can he possibly wipe out all of my monsters with just one?"_

"And finally," said Yugi, "I play Diffusion Wave-Motion!

700/**1500**

"It lets me pay 1000 lifepoints to allow my Sorcerer of Dark Magic to attack each and every one of your monsters this turn!"

700/**500**

"Then I've lost!" I exclaimed. "Unbelievable!" A second later, I regained my senses and shook my head. "No, of course it isn't. If there's anyone who can defeat me, it's you. Finish me off, Yugi!"

Yugi nodded. "Sorcerer, wipe him out with dark magic blitzkrieg!" One by one, his monster blew apart my monsters until my Obelisk had a measly 1600 attack points. A second later, it too disappeared, along with my lifepoints.

0/**500**

I keeled over and vomited out blood again. "Hardcore!" I gasped out when I finished.

"Loki! Are you ok!?"

"Of course I am. I won't let a little thing like hacking up blood slow me down." I climbed to my feet. "Besides, you have to be very skilled to make me do that. Consider it a compliment of sorts."

"The match is over!" cried the announcer. "The winner is Yugi Moto!"

"That was a great duel, Loki," said Yugi. "For a moment, I was afraid I was going to lose."

"What can I say? I guess you were more inspired to win than I was." I handed him Obelisk the Tormentor. "Take good care of him. And good luck in the final match."

"You're not staying?"

I shrugged. "There's no point in staying. My Battle City experience has come to an end. I'm in your corner in spirit, but I promise I'll return one day to have a rematch."

"I look forward to it." With that, I walked out.

**00000000**

As I headed toward the blimp, I saw Shizuka run towards the Duel Tower. She slowed to a walk when she saw me. "You lost your duel?"

"No surprises there, since my opponent was Yugi. It hurts, but it's probably for the best."

"What a load," said Selkirk Rex as he walked to me. "You threw that match, Loki."

Damn his insight. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You do so. We both know that you could've exploited Relay Soul when Yugi played it. But you didn't."

"No! I just didn't have the right card…" I stopped talking. I knew Sensei could see right through my lies. "Yes. I could've finished Yugi right then and there. I didn't, and I'm _glad_ I didn't!"

"What do you mean?" asked Shizuka.

"When I first joined the Ghouls, I just wanted to strengthen my deck. But the more time I spent acquiring the God Cards, the more I became obsessed with Marik's ambitions of ruling the world. I lost sight of the Duelist's spirit. But meeting Yugi and his friends, and seeing their devotion to their friends and their faith in the cards, I remembered what it was like to be a true duelist. The least I could do was stand down and let the pharaoh regain his memories."

There was a silence for a second, broken by Sensei's laughter. "I DID IT! I got you to learn the final lesson! Sometimes, it's necessary to sacrifice victory for the good of others."

I adopted a defensive position. "That means we have to duel now! If I win, I become the new Selkirk Rex."

"There's no need. You've already beaten me."

"When did I-"

"Your victory gave you your fourth and fifth locator cards."

"WHAT? But that would mean that you're…Darius Lynch!"

He smiled. And over the course of three seconds, he became the man I dueled. "It's my real name. I never thought you'd be able to defeat me with my Chaos deck. I wanted to stop you from delivering the Egyptian God Card to Marik, which is why I made you wager all those cards."

"But your plan backfired," I said. "For one thing, I didn't have any God Cards. More importantly, you couldn't beat me."

"Indeed. Regardless, you passed the final test. Kneel, Loki Admin." I did. Detaching the pendant on my necklace, he replaced it with a pendant with the crest of the Selkirk Rex: a rose with red and white petals. "Rise, Selkirk Rex."

I stood up. "Thank you, Darius Lynch."

"And at last, you've returned my Fusilier Dragon," he said as he took it out of his pendant. "Thus, the circle is complete."

I examined my new pendant. "I've always meant to ask; why did you choose this to be our emblem? And why 'Selkirk Rex', when you could've named it the Puma Legacy or the Tiger Legacy?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure. After days of contemplation, I just felt they were the best."

Shizuka watched us in fascination. "Selkirk Rex…"

As I took my Dark Magician Girl from Darius's pendant I said, "Shizuka, you have a lot of potential as a duelist, as I observed in our time in the virtual world. Would you like me to train you more?"

"You could teach me how to be a great duelist like Joey or Mai?" she asked, with the biggest smile I've seen on her so far.

"I can teach you to be a great duelist like Yugi himself. But first, I should tell you my real name."

"Wait a minute!" snapped Darius. "You're not supposed to tell your apprentice your real name! It's tradition!"

"Maybe, but the thing about tradition is that it's never too late to start one." Turning back to Shizuka I said, "My name isn't Siege. It's Loki; Loki Admin."

"That's a nice name," said Shizuka. "Please teach me how to duel, Loki-Sensei."

"Loki-Sensei has a nice ring to it," I noted. "I accept you as my apprentice. Now, let's go watch the next duel. Darius, would you mind keeping an eye on Ms. Valentine?"

Darius sighed. "I wanted to watch the duel. I'll do as you wish, but you'd better give me the play-by-play."

**00000000**

When Shizuka and I made it to the top of the tower, Yugi and his friends were watching the empty arena in anticipation for the duel. "You're back?" asked Yugi.

"That's right," I answered. "I can't resist watching a good duel."

"But the loser might get sent to the Shadow Realm," Duke pointed out.

"That's one of the best features."

"You know, sometimes it's hard to tell when you're joking or being serious."

"That was a joke," I explained. "But this next thing is serious. I'm the new Selkirk Rex, and Shizuka is my apprentice. I'm going to make her a duelist so powerful, she'll put Pegasus himself to shame, because I'm just that good."

If you hadn't figured it out by now, the arrogance I display is actually a joke.

"Can I have a word with you?" asked Joey. I stepped over and he growled, "You'd better not touch her, Loki. If you do, I'm gonna bust your kneecaps."

"You can trust me," I assured him. "If nothing else, you can trust me more than Tristan or Duke."

Joey thought about it for a second. "…You got a point there. Ok, but you'd better promise to be nicer than her than Yugi's grandpa was to me, and not to make any moves on her."

"Naturally." A second later, Kaiba appeared. "It's the king of humility himself."

Yugi stepped towards him. "Kaiba-"

"Let me take a guess," said Kaiba. "Marik's Millennium Rod will destroy me, right? I've heard the whole rant, and I'm still not interested. The only thing I need to be concerned about is his Winged Dragon of Ra, and Siege – or should I say Loki? – told me what the special abilities are." In all fairness, I think that he would've figured out the abilities anyway, with his Egyptian lineage. "And once I crush Marik," Kaiba continued, "I'll use the Winged Dragon of Ra crush your God Cards and reclaim my title as World Champion!"

"Kaiba, you-"

"Don't bother, Yugi," I said. "He's obviously not going to listen to you, no matter what you say. Just let him go."

"For once," said Kaiba, "I'll agree with your little friend, Yugi. Just leave me alone and let me crush Marik without your commentary."

Yugi sighed. "Very well, but I _did_ warn you." Yugi and I turned to the door as we felt the deep chill. "Marik."

"Pharaoh," he greeted. "I'll get to you soon enough. Then you and your pathetic friends can keep each other company in the Shadow Realm forever."

"You're going to pay for what you did to Mai!" Joey snapped.

I nodded in agreement. "Your days are numbered, demon."

Marik smirked. "You should bite your tongue. Now that you no longer possess Obelisk the Tormentor, the pharaoh is the only one protecting you from me. And once he's gone, you'll suffer the most for your treachery."

"If you geeks are done," growled Kaiba, "I have a duel to win."

As Marik walked to the arena I muttered, "Suddenly, I'm confused with who to root for." Shizuka gave me a very fierce glare. "I mean, 'go Kaiba!'" I sheepishly amended. A little known fact about Shizuka is that she can be very scary when she wants to be.

"The Duel Tower stands among rubble," Marik noted to Kaiba. "It's a fitting tombstone for your sort."

The man in the suit shouted, "Announcing the second semifinal match-up: Marik Ishtar vs. Seto Kaiba!"

"I've been waiting for this," said Kaiba. "Let me prepare a stage worthy of us." As he spoke, several external hologram projectors created a virtual coliseum with screaming fans.

Marik smirked. "Cute. Amusement for children. But my God Card will maroon you in the Shadow Realm, where your empty bravado will be meaningless!"

4000/4000

"I'll start things off. I'll set one card and place a monster in defense mode. Make your move."

"With pleasure. I summon X-Head Cannon (1800/1500) and attack your monster!" Marik's Bowganian (1300/1000) was destroyed. "Now I'll set one card and end my turn."

"I think it's time to take this duel to the next level," said Marik as he showed off his Millennium Rod. The sky turned dark, and I knew from the chill that a Shadow Game began.

Kaiba looked in surprise as a glowing rope tethered him to his monster. "What is this?"

"The player will suffer the pain and horror of his monsters," said Marik. "I'm looking forward to enjoying your suffering, just as I enjoyed Mai's."

"Humph! We'll see."

"We certainly will. Now, I summon Drillago (1600/1100) and attack you directly!"

2400/4000

"How did you do that?" demanded Kaiba. "I had a monster on the field!"

"That may be, but my monster can attack directly if the only monsters on your side of the field have 1600 attack points or more. Now, I'll end my turn."

"Fine. Now, I summon Z-Metal Tank (1500/1300), and use its effect to merge it with my other monster to create XZ-Tank Cannon (2400/2100)! Then I use its effect to discard a card from my hand to destroy your facedown card. XZ-Tank Cannon, destroy his monster!"

2400/3200

Marik clutched his chest when his monster was destroyed. "Ugh…nice hit, but you'll have to do better than that."

"If that's what you want. I'll end my turn."

"In that case, I'll play a monster in defense mode and set one card. Then I play Card of Sanctity, followed by Pot of Greed. Now, let's see what you've got."

"Hold on," said Kaiba. "You have seven cards in your hand! You have to discard one."

"You're absolutely right," said Marik as he discarded something. "Now, make your last move." I noticed his grin grew wider when he discarded.

"You wish. Now, I'll summon Lord of Dragons (1200/1100), and play the Flute of Summoning Dragon to call forth two Blue Eyes White Dragons (3000/2500). Then I'll play Monster Reborn to call forth the third Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

"_He discarded the other Blue Eyes White Dragon to use XZ-Tank Cannon's effect,"_ I realized.

"It looks like the end for you, Marik. And I was hoping you'd play the Winged Dragon of Ra and give me a real challenge. XZ-Tank Cannon, destroy his monster!"

Marik gagged for a second with the impact. "My Newdoria (1200/800) may be dead, but so is your Lord of Dragons, thanks to my monster's effect!"

Kaiba was knocked back when he felt his monster get destroyed. "What the!? I actually felt that!"

"And it gets worse. Since your dragons aren't protected from effects anymore, I play my Joyful Doom trap, which takes away your monsters' attack points for one turn, and adds the total to my lifepoints!""

2400/14600

"Whoa!" exclaimed Joey. "Even Noah couldn't gain _that_ many lifepoints in a turn!"

"That doesn't matter," said Mokuba. "Seto has so much firepower right now; he can take down Marik in two turns."

"Don't count on it," I muttered. "If Marik can somehow bring out the Winged Dragon of Ra in the next turn, Kaiba's done for."

"He's right," said Yugi. "The Winged Dragon of Ra has more than enough power to take down all three of Kaiba's dragons."

"It's time," said Marik. "I play Monster Reborn to revive the Winged Dragon of Ra! Great beast of the sky, please hear my cry! Transform thyself from orb of light and bring me victory in this fight! Envelope the desert with your glow and cast your rage upon my foe! Unlock your powers deep within so that together we may win! Appear in this Shadow Game as I call your name…Winged Dragon of Ra!" (0/0)

"It's over," I muttered. "Even a hundred Blue-Eyes White Dragons wouldn't help against Ra."

"Since I didn't sacrifice any monsters to bring it out, it has zero attack and defense points," Marik explained. "But that's about to change. I can pay 1000 lifepoints to instantly wipe out any card on the field. So, I'll tribute 4000 lifepoints to destroy your four monsters!"

2400/10600

Kaiba screamed in pain as each of his monsters were incinerated. "Ugh…my dragons…" he moaned as he struggled to stand. Another time, I would've been glad that his Blue Eyes White Dragons were killed, but that was before I knew why they were so important to him during his duel with Noah. Worse still, the pain he suffered was more than mental.

"Yes…evaluate the damage, then make some more! Now, I'll use the ability of Point for Point, transferring all but one of my lifepoints to the Winged Dragon of Ra's attack points!" As he spoke, his body faded away until the only thing visible was his eye. The rest of his body merged with his monster.

2400/1

Shizuka held onto me in fright. "Wh…WHAT IS THAT THING!?"

I hugged her back – half because to comfort her, half because I was also afraid – and replied, "It's a monster with 10599 attack points. If you wanted to see an unstoppable monster, this is as close as you're going to get." I knew why she was scared. The last time she saw that creature, Mai's mind was sent to the Shadow Realm. And now, she'd have to watch it happen to Kaiba.

"It's over, Kaiba," sneered Marik. "But if it's any consolation, I'm surprised you lasted _this_ long. And now…you DIE!" The Winged Dragon of Ra attacked, and Kaiba was instantly wiped out. Kaiba was forced to his knees.

0/1

Marik returned to his human form and pulled out the Millennium Rod. "Be swallowed by the darkness!" A second later, Kaiba fell to the ground; I doubted he would rise again.

End Chapter

And now, Kaiba's fallen to Marik! Can Yugi save him and the other victims, or will he join them? R&R.


	19. The Shadow Endgame

The mood was very downbeat as the medics carried Kaiba back to the blimp. I sighed, as we stood outside Kaiba's room. "The list just keeps getting bigger."

"Kaiba's a real creep," Joey muttered. "But even he didn't deserve this." Darius walked out of Kaiba's room. "How's Mokuba holding up?"

"Not good at all, I'm afraid. He's a tough little guy, but he's finally reached his breaking point."

"And I'm pretty close to mine," said Téa. "Look how many of our friends have suffered so far, not to mention Odion."

I sighed. "No matter how many casualties there are, Marik won't stop until he's defeated. Where's Yugi?"

"He's in his room," said Joey. "He said he wanted to look through his deck one more time before facing Marik, to make sure it's the absolute best it can be."

"Can Yugi really defeat Marik?" asked Shizuka.

"I wish I knew, Shizuka. The only thing I know for sure is if Yugi can't stop Marik, nobody can."

"It's true that Marik has a powerful deck," I said. "But every deck has a weakness, even if there's a God Card in it. We just need to be calm."

"How can we possibly be calm?" demanded Tristan. "If Marik wins one more time, we're all dead!"

Darius smacked him backhanded. "Don't be so selfish! It's true that if he wins, we'll all probably be killed. But if he loses, Ishizu might lose her brother forever. No matter the outcome, it's lose/lose for her. Regardless, she stays calm, ready to help the Pharaoh in any way she can."

I nodded in agreement. "We have no right to panic. I have a plan to help Yugi, anyway."

Darius raised his eyebrow. "You do?"

"Yes. Or more accurately, Seto Kaiba has a plan. Knowing the abilities of the Winged Dragon of Ra – since I told him – he most likely devised a strategy of defeating it. So, all I need to do is discover what he found out, and tell it to Yugi." I entered Kaiba's room, and saw Mokuba sitting by the bedside. "Mokuba?"

He looked up. "Hey, Loki," he said. The poor kid looked like he'd been to hell and back.

"I know it's not proper to ask you this now, but it's an emergency. May I use your brother's computer?"

"Why?" The fact that he didn't out and say no made it plainly obvious to me that he felt very weak.

"I think that somewhere in his computer is the secret to defeating the Winged Dragon of Ra."

Mokuba's eyes widened. "You're right. He played with it all night before we went to Noah's virtual world." He walked over and started typing. "It's a program he set up that displays his deck, how it'd react to different strategies, and the chances of his deck against Marik."

"And?"

"He predicted his chances of success with Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon to be 5 percent, three Blue Eyes White Dragons to be 8 percent, a Crush Card combo to be 13 percent, and Fiend Sanctuary to be 20 percent."

_"Even with Fiend Sanctuary, Kaiba only predicted a 20 percent chance of victory? I guess all of his pre-match bravado was a show."_ Of course, I had the good taste not to say it out loud. "Does your brother have Fiend Sanctuary in his deck?"

"I'm not sure. I know Seto's stronger cards by heart, but not a lot of the other ones."

"May I further inconvenience you by searching his deck?"

I sensed doubt in him. "I'm not sure if I should. He rarely even lets _me_ touch his cards, and he certainly doesn't let people borrow them."

I got down on my knee. "I beg you, Mokuba. I know he'll be angry if he finds out I did, but that card is probably the only thing that can help Yugi beat Marik. And only beating Marik can bring your brother back."

"That's different. If it means waking up my brother, I'll do anything!" Mokuba jumped up and took Kaiba's deck out of his Duel Disk. He thumbed through the cards for a few seconds, and handed one of them to me. "Here it is. Please, promise me Yugi will win!"

I couldn't honestly tell him that. After all, Kaiba predicted only 20 percent chance of success. "…Yes. He'll beat Marik." Once I took the card I said, "Thank you." With that, I ran full speed to Yugi's room.

As rude as it was, I barged right into his room without even knocking. He shot up in surprise. "What's wrong?" he asked. I realized it was, in fact, Yami.

"Take this card before you start your duel!" I said as I tossed it to him.

He caught the card and eyed it suspiciously. "Fiend Sanctuary?"

"It belongs to Kaiba. According to his records, that card will increase your chances of victory by 20 percent, and I think he's right."

Yami nodded. "If you and Kaiba really think this card will help, then I'll use it."

As he shuffled it into his deck I added, "Yami, I was serious before about wanting a rematch, so don't you dare lose to Marik. If you do, I swear I'm going to kick your ass before Marik gets a chance to send us to the Shadow Realm! In fact, you'll be begging him to send you to the Shadow Realm!"

"Ok!" exclaimed Yami. "I promise I'll defeat Marik."

"Good." Then I thought to myself, _"Plus, if you fail, I'll have gotten Mokuba's hopes up for nothing. You'd better not make me a liar."_

**00000000**

Yami and I walked to the top together, away from the others. I was drawn to his aura; it certainly big and bright, but there was an inner complexity. There were webs of darkness flowing throughout, of which got denser closer to his Millennium Puzzle.

"Why did you let me win?" he asked.

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean during our duel. I saw the anticipation in your eyes. You could've won, couldn't you? So why didn't you?"

"It was a test of sorts," I lied. "If you could break my strategy, you were more worthy to win the tournament." As you know, my reason was more personal than that, but he seemed to accept my response.

Ishizu was already at the top of the tower when we arrived. We waited together until the others arrived a few minutes later. Mokuba did too, wanting to see the duel that would take Marik down. And eventually, so too did Marik.

"You're here," Marik said to me.

"That's right," I replied.

"I'm glad to hear it. It would be annoying to chase you down before I send you to the Shadow Realm; not that you could hide, anyway."

"Don't forget, you still have to defeat Yugi and the Pharaoh."

"Once one of them falls, so too will the other," he stated as he entered the arena.

Yami didn't seem fazed. "I'll defeat you and free you from the darkness."

Marik developed a crazed expression and said, "Come and get me!"

I took my place next to Shizuka. "Are you excited?"

"That's not the word I'd use," she muttered. "If he wins, he'll kill us all."

"I admit that the stakes are less to my liking than I would've preferred."

As the duelists cut and shuffled each other's decks, Marik said, "Shuffle well, and hope that Ra will end up at the bottom of my deck." Then they returned their decks, placing them in their respective Duel Disks.

They returned to their corners as the judge announced, "It's time to begin the Battle City final duel: Yugi Moto vs. Marik Ishtar! Commence dueling!"

Marik licked his Millennium Rod and said, "Let the fun begin!" Darkness engulfed the Duel Tower, marking the beginning of another Shadow Game. "I've prepared the ultimate Shadow Game for you, Pharaoh! It's time to show you the first surprise." A giant hourglass appeared above the playing field. And Mai was trapped in it, nearly completely buried in the bottom half! "Once this duel's over, she'll be gone!"

Shizuka squeezed my arm tightly. "Oh no! Poor Mai!"

"The Pharaoh will win," I said. "The Pharaoh will save her. Just keep telling yourself that."

Yami growled. "I won't let this madness continue!"

Marik grinned. "She's not the only one in danger." A second later, Yugi appeared above and next to Yami, shackled in dark energy. "If you lose the duel, little Yugi will be sent to the Shadow Realm."

"You leave Yugi out of this!"

"Don't worry; my weaker half is involved as well!" As he spoke, the original Marik appeared behind the dark Marik, unconscious and also bound in dark energy. "If I lose, the shadows will take him!"

_"Poor Ishizu,"_ I thought. _"This really is lose/lose for her."_

"Now, let's begin."

4000/4000

"I summon Vampiric Leech (500/1200) and attack you directly!" As his monster zoomed towards Yugi he explained, "This monster can attack directly; even on its first turn!"

3500/4000

Yugi screamed and a part of his leg faded away. "When you lose lifepoints, Yugi will lose a piece of himself to the darkness. When your life points reach zero, Yugi will be gone forever! And the same rule applies to my former self."

"I can't duel!" exclaimed Yami.

"You have to!" cried Yugi.

"That's right," Marik agreed. "You're playing by my rules now, and I can banish Yugi to the Shadow Realm at any time."

"I'll fight with you side by side to beat Marik's evil heart," Yugi said to Yami. "I'm sure I was chosen by the Millennium Puzzle to lend my strength to you."

"Thank you," said Yami. He turned back to Marik and said, "I'll save both of you!"

Marik smirked. "It's still my turn, and I activate Vampiric Leech's other special ability; by discarding a card, I can switch it to defense position at the end of the turn. Now, I'll set a card and end my turn."

I assessed the situation. _"I suppose the worst-case scenario is that the card Marik discarded is the Winged Dragon of Ra, meaning he only needs one card to bring it out. …And in that case, we're as good as finished."_

"I summon Queen's Knight (1500/1600)!" declared Yami. "I destroy your Vampiric Leech!"

Marik shrugged. "No harm done, since it was in defense mode."

"Then I'll set two cards and end my turn."

Marik drew. "Heh! I've drawn just what I need. But first, I summon Juragedo (1700/1200), and destroy Queen's Knight!"

3300/4000

Yugi screamed as a piece of his arm faded away. Yami looked up in alarm. "Yugi!"

"I'll…be fine," he said in a near-whisper.

"I'll set two cards and end my turn," said Marik. And as Yami drew he declared, "I activate my trap card, Left Arm Offering! I can add one spell to my hand, at the cost of all other cards in my hand. I choose Monster Reborn!"

_"Not good,"_ I thought. _"Once Yugi ends his turn, the Winged Dragon of Ra comes back from the graveyard!"_

Luckily, I was wrong, for Yami also had a facedown card. "I activate Exchange!" said Yami. "It allows us to take one card from the other's hand. I'll take your Monster Reborn."

"Fine," he replied. "I'll take your De-Fusion."

"Now, I'll play Monster Reborn to revive Queen's Knight! Then I summon King's Knight (1600/1400)! And since Queen's Knight is on the field, his special ability lets me special summon Jack's Knight (1900/1000)!"

"You got him now!" cheered Tristan. "Take him out!"

But Yami stood there, gazing at Marik's field. Marik cackled, asking, "What are you waiting for? Come and get me!"

"…I'll end my turn without attacking," said Yami.

Tristan frowned. "Why didn't he attack?"

I shook my head. "Have you learned nothing from watching him duel? It's stupid to attack when your opponent has two facedown cards."

"Exactly," said Joey. "Yugi did the right thing. He's got great instincts, and knew the time wasn't right."

As Marik drew he said, "I know you don't have the God cards in your hand. I feel sorry for you, waiting impatiently. If you draw Slifer but only have a few cards in your hand, its attack will be nothing. So, I'll give you a present." He pulled a card from his hand with his teeth and placed it on the Duel Disk. "I play Card of Sanctity, forcing us to draw until we each hold six cards. Then I switch Juragedo to defense mode and end my turn."

I frowned. "Something's wrong. Marik wouldn't give someone such a huge advantage unless he could profit from it more than his opponent."

Tristan shrugged. "Maybe Marik's cracking."

"He _already_ cracked. He's filled with madness, but there's definitely method to it."

Yami drew. "Now, I sacrifice my three monsters to summon Slifer the Sky Dragon (X000/X000)! And because I now have six cards in my hand, its attack points are 6000! Slifer, attack!"

Marik laughed. "Your monster is nothing! I activate my facedown card, Dark Spell Regeneration, letting me activate a spell in my graveyard! I choose Monster Reborn, and use it to bring back Ra in his God Phoenix mode! In this mode, Ra is immune to all attacks for one turn! God Phoenix Ra will burn you and Slifer into ashes!"

Shizuka gripped my arm tighter. "Can that thing really destroy Yugi's monster?"

My arm started to go a little numb, but I decided against informing her. "Perhaps. It's his Swift Attack ability, which lets him attack or use a special effect if its special summoned, no matter whose turn it is. And his God Phoenix ability lets him pay 1000 lifepoints to destroy any one of the Pharaoh's monsters. But I'm not sure if it can work against another God Card."

"You've overlooked something," Yami said to Marik. "Since Ra has no attack points, Slifer's special ability will wipe it out. Slifer, attack with your second mouth!"

The energy bolt streamed towards Ra, but it simply bounced off. "You fool!" Marik taunted. "Didn't you hear me? Ra is invincible!" He raised his arms and recited the text that granted Ra his destructive ability. "Envelop the desert with your glow and cast your rage upon my foe'! Now, I pay 1000 lifepoints to destroy Slifer!"

3300/3000

As a piece of Marik's better half faded away, a huge blast of flame engulfed Yami, Yugi, and their side of the field. When it cleared, Slifer the Sky Dragon was no more. "And that's just the beginning," said Marik. "I plan to prolong your anguish as long as I can, Pharaoh."

"Yugi, please hold on," Yami said.

"I'm ok, but our God Card is destroyed."

"And now we only have one God Card left."

"At the end of the turn," said Marik. "Ra goes back to the graveyard, since it was summoned using Monster Reborn. But the worst is yet to come! I'll destroy your lifepoints one by one, as the darkness consumes your body! I play my trap card, Zombie's Jewel, which lets me put Monster Reborn back in my hand. I'll use it to summon Ra in my next turn, and destroy you with Ra's One Turn Kill ability. Zombie's Jewel also allows you to draw another card. Of course, nothing will truly save you in the end."

Téa shivered. "Yugi has no monsters on the field to protect him!"

"But the God Phoenix can only attack the opponent's monsters, right?" asked Duke.

"Don't underestimate Ra," I warned. "It seems to have a special ability for every occasion."

"Pharaoh," said Marik, "Let me show you something I think you'll find interesting." He reached into his cloak and pulled out…the Millennium Ring.

I angrily grunted. "What's he doing with that? I thought it belonged to Bakura."

"The Millennium Ring is my trophy," he said to Yami. "And when I win this game, I'll add the Millennium Puzzle to my collection. I want to show you just how Bakura died." A second later, a vision of Bakura being consumed by Ra's flames flashed before us. "Come my next turn, I'll kill you the same way!"

"Marik, you heartless monster," I snarled.

"How dare you hurt my friends!" snapped Yami. "I'll have my revenge." He closed his eyes and his aura exploded. The energies flowed into the card he drew with Zombie Jewel's effect, indicating the Destiny Draw. There was no denying his faith in the cards, but he did something I never would've done.

Without even looking at the card he drew, placed it in the spell/trap zone of his Duel Disk.

Darius frowned. "What's this? He's playing blind?"

"That's an illegal move!" said the judge. "It's against the rules to set a card without knowing what it is. If it's a monster card, it's in the wrong slot!"

"Mokuba," I said, "Please tell Roland to look the other way. The Pharaoh knows what he's doing."

Darius crossed his arms. "Are you that sure? No matter how much faith you have, you should always look before you leap."

"Is it really faith, if we have to double-check?" I challenged.

"…Let them continue," Mokuba ruled.

Marik grinned. "Has the pressure driven you crazy, Pharaoh? It's the last draw of your life, and you should take a good look at your card as a souvenir."

"It's your turn," insisted Yami.

"Very well. I play Monster Reborn, bringing Ra from the graveyard once more!" Once it returned he chanted, "'Unlock your powers deep within so that together we may win!' Pharaoh, open your eyes and let this scene be sealed in your mind!" Slowly, he started to dissolve. "I'm transforming my lifepoints into Ra's attack points!"

3300/1

All that remained of Marik was his right eye, floating in the air. The rest of his body merged with Ra. The remaining good in Marik was also nearly gone as well. "And now," he said, "I sacrifice Juragedo, giving its attack points to Ra as well. This is the One Turn Kill; you're finished!"

I saw a bead of sweat run down Darius's brow. "That thing has 4699 attack points!"

"So what?" I said. "I made my Obelisk the Tormentor much stronger than that during our duel, and Yami had no problem taking it down."

"Winged Dragon of Ra!" shouted Marik. "Destroy the Pharaoh!"

"Not so fast!" snapped Yami. "I reveal Fiend Sanctuary!"

I smirked. "Told ya. His power trumps ours, Darius. He can pull off moves that we can only dream of."

As we spoke, the effect of Fiend Sanctuary kicked in, placing a Metal Fiend Token on Yami's field. Marik gasped. "It…it's my reflection!"

"I'm no longer the target of Ra's attack," explained Yami. "Now, Ra will attack you through the reflection in the token. And you only have one lifepoint, so you'll be destroyed by your own monster!"

Ra's attack struck the monster, bounced off, and struck Marik instead. But when the smoke cleared, Marik stood there intact, with his body put back together. Ra stood beside him, also unharmed. Marik laughed, saying, "You were a fool to think you could win that easily."

"How did you survive?" Yami demanded.

"I activated De-Fusion, the card I took from you when you played Exchange. De-Fusion released the fusion between Ra and I, ending the attack and transferring all of Ra's attack points back to my lifepoints. Your strategy failed, and I'm stronger than ever!"

3300/4700

Luckily, Marik's better half was back together as well. Marik looked back and said, "He's still hanging in there. I'll set one card and end my turn." Monster Reborn wore off and Ra returned to the graveyard. "Remember, in order to maintain the Metal Fiend Token on the field, you have to pay 1000 lifepoints each turn."

"But if he does, won't Yugi disappear some more?" Shizuka asked me.

"That's right," I answered. "But if it leads to Marik's defeat, it'll be a move well made."

Yami drew. "I'm sorry, Yugi. I pay 1000 lifepoints to keep my Metal Fiend Token on the field!" Yugi screamed in agony as his body faded even more.

2300/4700

Marik laughed. "It's Yugi who suffers, just so you can maintain a useless creature on the field."

"It's not as useless as you'd like it to be, Marik. I activate my facedown card, Multiply! It allows him to increase the number of Metal Fiends on the field from one to three."

Marik was shocked, and it was obvious why. Yami's tokens were meant to defend, but they were still monsters that could be sacrificed to summon something stronger. And in this case…

"I sacrifice the three Metal Fiend Tokens to summon Obelisk the Tormentor (4000/4000)!" he declared. "Attack with your fist of fate!"

As Marik was knocked to the ground he shrieked, "I'll get you for this, Pharaoh!"

2300/700

I smirked. "Ouch. That looked uncomfortable."

"Oh, YEAH!" cheered Joey. "Marik didn't even know what hit him! He's in a complete daze!"

"That's right," said Duke. "It's kind of like _you_ are, every day!"

"Yugi's great," agreed Mokuba.

"Don't get too excited," Darius warned us. "It was a nice hit, but Marik's not finished yet."

Marik struggled to his feet, and made a freaky face with his tongue out. "Impressive," he said. "It hurts, but you shouldn't forget that the other Marik hurts worse than I do." As he spoke, his better half almost completely faded away again. "The irony is very amusing. Your hateful spice can roast a delicious sacrificial offering."

_"Stupid Shadow Games,"_ I thought. _"They're making this duel much more complicated than it has to be."_

"You should feel honored; of all the lives I destroyed, yours has been the most amusing. And the worst is ahead! My trap card, which you activated with your last attack, is powerful enough to stop an Egyptian God card."

"How can it be?" asked Joey. "Trap cards don't work against Obelisk!"

"Indeed. Traps can't be used against the God, but this trap was activated when my lifepoints dropped! My trap, Metal Reflect Slime, creates a plasma creature which takes on the shape of the attacking monster." And the huge mass of slime became a duplicate of Obelisk the Tormentor (0/3000).

"Your carbon copy pales in comparison to the original," said Yami.

"My God Slime is more powerful than you think."

"I set one card facedown and end my turn."

As Marik drew he said, "The theme of my deck is Immortality. I created it to continuously revive my God, and the God Slime is no exception. I summon Revival Jam (1500/500)! Remember your last encounter with it, when you dueled my mind slave, Strings."

I certainly remember Strings. He was a creepy little fellow who never spoke. His strategy involved summoning slime monsters, especially Revival Jam. It's a freaky little card that always returns to the field when it's destroyed in battle. Plus, Marik made him carry Slifer the Sky Dragon and used the deck theme to ensure Slifer's attack points were infinite. I don't know how Yugi defeated him, but I was sure it wouldn't be so easy this time around.

"And now," said Marik, "I activate Polymerization, fusing Revival Jam and the God Slime!" When the fusion was completed, the God Slime looked the same as before. "The God Slime may appear unchanged, but I assure you that it has transformed into a new, more powerful beast! I end my turn; attack if you dare!"

"Very well. I play Big Shield Gardna (100/2600) in defense mode, and attack with Obelisk!" Obelisk struck the slime monster, and the arena was covered in slime a second later.

But Marik laughed. "I told you God Slime was indestructible." The slime moved back to Marik's side of the field, and reformed itself. "The fusion gave my creature Revival Jam's ability. Now my plan is complete; thanks to my invincible defense monster, my lifepoints can't be damaged. It's impossible to defeat me; this was my plan from the start!"

I scratched my chin. "So, Marik allowed Obelisk to attack him in order to create the God Slime. It's a clever defense, but certainly not beyond Yami's ability to break down. After all, he could beat my Barrier Combo."

Darius scoffed. "What's your mentality; anyone who beats you is unstoppable? Didn't you learn humility from Nekomata?"

"I thought we agreed never to mention that name again," I said with a hiss. My hatred for that name ran deep, but it's a story for another time.

"I end my turn," said Yami.

"It's over," said Marik. "All you can do now is wait for the return of the Winged Dragon of Ra. And even if you could attack, it's my weaker self who'll pay the price. I play Bowganian (1300/1000) in defense mode! As long as this monster remains on the field, you'll lose 300 life points each time I start my turn! That's all for now."

"I'll set one card facedown, and sacrifice Big Shield Gardna for Dark Magician Girl (2000/1700)! I use it to attack Bowganian!"

"Sorry, but I activate Jam Defender! It redirects all of your attacks to God Slime!" And sadly, that included Dark Magician Girl. Yugi cried out as he faded away some more.

1300/700

"It's my move, and that means Bowganian takes away 300 more!"

1000/700

"The powers of the God and the Pharaoh are nothing to me. You can only worship me and keep silent."

Téa made a strained sound. Then she seemed completely blank. "Téa?" I asked.

"Pharaoh, don't hesitate," she said in a distorted voice. "I'm already prepared to die."

Joey shook her by the shoulders. "Snap out of it, Téa!"

"There's no time. Please, destroy my evil half and don't worry about me."

Then it hit me. "That's…the real Marik! Somehow, he must be tapping into the Millennium Rod to speak through her!"

Ignoring us he said, "I swore revenge on you for my father's death. But now I know the truth, as I heard it though Téa when Ishizu told my story." He pointed to dark Marik. "The one who killed my father is my other self; my evil heart."

The dark side laughed. "No matter what happens, you're going to die."

"I'll take you with me!"

"No one can destroy me!"

"No, brother!" Ishizu pleaded to the light Marik. "Don't surrender your life to stop your dark side!"

Light Marik sighed. "I'm sorry, but there's no other way." Looking back at Yami he said, "Bury my evil heart in the dark! This is the final test!"

"It's all just a waste of time," said dark Marik. "There's no way I can lose. I've just drawn the card I need to retrieve Monster Reborn one more time. I play Mining for Magical Stones, allowing me to discard two cards in order to transfer one spell card from the graveyard to his hand. And the card I choose is Monster Reborn! In one more turn, I'll bring back the Winged Dragon of Ra!"

"I'll break through your defense!" vowed Yami. "And not only will I defeat you, I'll save your good side from the Shadow Realm!"

"Impossible. Every time I lose lifepoints, my other self loses a piece of himself. I'll set one card facedown, and summon Swallowtail Spike Lizard (1900/700) in defense mode. As long as it remains in defense, my lifepoints increase by 1000 each turn. I'll use the extra life points to strengthen Ra and destroy Obelisk the Tormentor. Once your God card is gone, I'll use mine to finish you off!"

Joey groaned a little. "I think Yugi is hesitating to attack, or to be attacked."

"It's true," said light Marik. "You can't see the dark game Yugi and my dark half are fighting."

"Please tell me! It's not about connecting the players to their monsters with a rope, like Marik did to Kaiba, is it?"

I frowned. _"What? Why can't they see Yugi and light Marik next to their other halves? Are they blind or something?"_

"They've both taken their other selves as sacrifices for the duel," explained light Marik. "When a player's lifepoints reach zero, his other self will be lost in the dark forever. So will the pieces of me that I left within Téa."

A second later, Téa shuddered again. "Huh? Did I just zone out or something?" This time, it really was Téa. Light Marik probably didn't have the strength to talk though her anymore.

"What are you waiting for?" dark Marik asked Yami. "It's your move."

"Alright. I'll set two cards and play Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts (1500/1200) in defense mode! I end my turn."

"And that means Bowganian takes away 300 more of your lifepoints!"

700/700

Yugi screamed again, but the others didn't react at all. _"I don't get it. Am I the only spectator who can see Yugi? …Oh! Perhaps only those who can wield God Cards can see the effects of a Shadow Game. …Wait, that makes no sense. A few minutes ago, Shizuka admitted that she could see Yugi too. So, either she can wield a God Card, or there's a special trait we both share."_

As Marik drew he said, "I gain 1000 lifepoints with my Spike Lizard's effect."

700/1700

"Then I activate Monster Reborn to call the God Phoenix! And I pay 1000 lifepoints to activate Ra's special effect to destroy Obelisk!" The Phoenix launched a wave of fire at Obelisk, and suddenly the field was covered in smoke.

700/700

"Your lifepoints are wide open for attack, now that Obelisk's destroyed." But as the smoke cleared, not only was Obelisk still on the field, but Slifer was right in front of him, shielding Obelisk from Ra! "But how?"

"I activated my _own_ Monster Reborn, and brought Slifer back from the graveyard to defend my Obelisk," explained Yami.

I smiled. _"It's like an epic poem. The Pharaoh marched into battle, wielding the shield of Slifer and the sword of Obelisk, to slay the Winged Dragon of Ra and his vile master."_

Slifer was destroyed and Ra returned to the graveyard. "I assure you, he'll be back," said Marik. "I play the spell, Surprise Attack from Beyond, which allows me to replay my attack!" Once again, Ra returned, but this time it was in its harmless sphere mode. "Ra isn't ready to fight yet. Which mode should I use?"

Then he began his chant. "Great beast of the sky, please hear my cry! Transform thyself from orb of light and bring me victory in this fight! Unlock your powers deep within to that together we may win! Appear in this Shadow Game as I call your name: Winged Dragon of Ra!"

Once again, Ra was in his dragon beast form. Marik reduced his lifepoints to one, adding them to Ra's attack points and merging himself with his monster, leaving only his right eye on the field. "And now, I'll sacrifice my remaining monsters to add their strength to Ra! My creature will have enough power to crush your God Card and win the duel! None can escape the fury of Ra!"

"We'll see about that," said Yami. "I was waiting for the moment when you became a monster. I activate Soul Taker! It gives you 1000 life points, while allowing me to sacrifice one of your monsters!"

700/1700

"You intend to sacrifice Ra?" guessed Marik.

"No. I'm taking God Slime instead! Since it's made up of two monsters, it serves as a double sacrifice for Obelisk's Soul Energy MAX!"

_"Alright!"_ I thought. _"Now the dark Marik will be destroyed, letting the light Marik return to his body!"_

"You will never take down my Winged Dragon of Ra!" said Marik.

"It's too late! Obelisk, attack with your fist of fate!"

"I sacrifice Bowganian and Spike Lizard to increase Ra's attack! Adding the 1000 lifepoints I received from Soul Taker's effect raises Ra's attack to 4899!"

700/1

_"Why does he bother? Obelisk is still going to wipe out Ra with his effect."_

Yet somehow, Ra was still standing. "I activated Class System," Marik explained. "Now Ra can only be destroyed by a monster with more stars than it. It's my move, and I attack your Obelisk with Ra!"

"I activate Magical Dimension! I need a Spellcaster to activate it, and I'll use Dark Magician Girl. It allows me to sacrifice two of my monsters to escape Ra's attack. I choose Obelisk and Gazelle!" Ra's attack faded along with Yami's monsters.

"You were a fool to sacrifice Obelisk! Without your God Card, you have nothing left!"

"I have plenty left," he replied. "I still have every one of my friends to support me, and the heart of the cards to give me strength!" I just love Yami's speeches. They always give me hope for the future. "Magical Dimension also allows me to summon a Spellcaster from my hand, and I choose Dark Magician! And now, I activate Ragnarok, which can only be used when there are two magicians on the field. This card will destroy all the monsters on your side of the field, including the Winged Dragon of Ra. And since you fused with Ra, you will also be destroyed!"

"But," said Marik, "if you destroy me and Ra, the other Marik won't be able to survive with only one life point. So go ahead and attack; break your promise to Ishizu. Attack, and crush an innocent soul!"

This was the most difficult decision for Yami to make. He was caught in a lose/lose situation, and he knew it.

Luckily, there were such things as miracles.

"MASTER MARIK!" We all spun around to see who shouted. And climbing up the steps to the arena, barely able to stand, was Odion.

"You're awake!" I exclaimed.

"Marik, please don't give up!" he called out. "There's still time!"

"That's where you're wrong," said dark Marik. "There's no turning back now! Even though you're alive, I won't change places with my other self."

Odion continued walking to the arena, but stumbled. I ran to help him but Ishizu said, "Stop. This is Odion's hope. Let him go." So I backed up and gave Odion space.

"Release my master now!" he demanded.

"It's useless," said dark Marik. "The spirit of my other self is like a candle in the wind, without the strength to come out, or even to live."

"The sad fate of the Tomb-Keepers caused many tragedies for the Ishtars. Resentment and hatred have occupied Marik's heart and let evil stay."

"That's enough!" Marik pulled out the Millennium Rod and knocked Odion back.

Odion stood up again and said, "You're trying to seal yourself into hopeless darkness!" With that, Marik blasted him again.

Ishizu ran over to help him up, but he said, "I'm fine," as he stood up. "Master Marik! Even if you linger in the darkness, you must live. It's not only the Tomb-Keeper's fate, but the fate of all humans!" Marik was about to use the Millennium Rod again, but he suddenly froze. He pressed against the gap where his eye was, dropping his Millennium Rod. "People do not live because they are chasing hope. People have hope because they live!"

"ARGH!" cried out dark Marik. "Why does this fellow have so much strength?"

When he lowered his hand, it revealed light Marik's right eye, occupying the formally empty space. "Please, Pharaoh!" light Marik cried out. "Attack me now!"

"I can't!" argued Yami.

"I can't hold on much longer, and I need your help to banish my dark half! I'm sorry for everything I've done to you and your friends. As a Tomb-Keeper, I was raised to serve you, but I always resented this task, and from my resentment and hatred my dark half was born. But I'm ready to take responsibility for my actions and correct the wrongs I committed."

"Alright. I activate Ragnarok, using Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl! By removing all the monsters in my hand, deck, and graveyard from play, I can destroy all of your monsters."

It was an incredible sight. All of Yugi's monsters appeared, circling the field. Obelisk put Ra in a choke hold while Slifer coiled around it. They lifted Marik and Ra into the air while the two magicians crossed their scepters, creating a magic circle in the sky. Marik and Ra were pulled into the circle, which exploded in a magnificent light.

When it faded, light Marik stood there, clutching his chest. When he regained his composure he said, "Pharaoh, there is still one more task that we must complete. I still have one more lifepoint." He discarded his cloak.

Behind him, a right eye appeared. But this time, it belonged to dark Marik. "Marik, we should work together to defeat the Pharaoh and have our revenge!" said dark Marik. "We can still take the infinite power of the Pharaoh and rule the world together!"

"You can't have my consciousness. I'll bury you with my own hands." Turning to Yami he said, "I'm sorry. It was my duty to help you, but instead I turned my back. I can't change the past, but I can start over. I'm proud to be a Tomb-Keeper, and I'm proud of my sister and my brother."

Odion smiled. "Thank you. I've waited so long to hear you say that."

Marik smiled at him and continued, "My family waited five thousand years for the Pharaoh's return, and now I must fulfill my destiny by helping you fulfill yours. I hold the key to helping you unlock your true powers. The secret is written on my back. But first, you must have all three Egyptian God cards." He raised his hand to his deck. "I have to finish this myself, as some reparation for the crimes I committed. This will be my first step toward the future."

"You can't!" shrieked dark Marik. "You need me!"

"Begone! I surrender this duel to the Pharaoh!"

700/0

And with that, dark Marik disappeared with that single lifepoint. It was finally over.

End Chapter

At long last, Yugi and the Pharaoh have emerged triumphant in the Battle City tournament. He's now only a few steps away from unlocking the secrets of his past. R&R.


	20. Aftermath

Before we kick off, I'd like to give thanks to Ophion Kuyashi for his review.

**00000000**

The Shadow Game faded, and Yugi and Yami were reunited again. The judge announced, "Battle City is over! The winner is Yugi Moto!"

As the platform lowered, we all climbed atop to congratulate Yugi. "It was amazing the way every monster in your deck showed up!" exclaimed Joey as he gave Yugi a high-five.

I walked over to Marik, crossing my arms. "So, you're Marik Ishtar. I served you for two years, but this is the first time we actually met."

"I'm glad to meet you," he said. "I'm sorry about everything I put you through."

"It made me into the duelist I am today," I said with a shrug. "I think the only fair thing for me to do is to call it even."

He turned to Ishizu, who walked towards him with Odion. "And I apologize to you too, sister."

"All that matters is that you're safe and have returned to the way you were," she answered with a smile. "You've fulfilled your destiny and ended the mission of the Tomb-Keepers. Our family was entrusted to guard the Pharaoh's memory; now it's time to pass this message to the Pharaoh."

Marik's eyes widened. "Does this mean we can cast off the chains of darkness and live?"

"The three of us aren't only members of the same tribe; we're family." I noticed Odion got a little misty when she said that.

Mokuba got up on the platform and said, "Yugi, you've won the title of Battle City Duel King. As the co-host of this tournament, I praise you for this proud honor. And as the winner of this duel, you are entitled to Marik's rarest card."

Marik walked over to Yugi and the others. "Everyone who was banished to the Shadow Realm by my dark side will return soon." Then he took the Winged Dragon of Ra off his Duel Disk. "And here's the third and final Egyptian God Card."

But before he handed it to Yugi, I snatched it out of his hand. "Sorry about that," I said with a grin. "I just wanted to safely say that I've held all three God Cards at some point, which is quite an accomplishment for one lifetime." With that, I handed it to Yugi.

Marik smirked. "I have one more task to perform before my Tomb-Keeper's mission is complete." He removed his shirt and showed the scars carved onto his back. There were several hieroglyphics, and pictures of the God Cards. "This is the secret to the Pharaoh's power. These markings were passed down through my family for millennia."

"The words were written by a fortune teller three thousand years ago," continued Ishizu. "Whoever holds the three God cards is proven to be the host of the Pharaoh's soul, and can be told how to find the Pharaoh's memory."

"Can you read the words on Marik's back?" Joey asked Yugi.

"I'll try," he answered. "I don't know the ancient language, but something came to me through the three Egyptian God cards. This greatly resembles a stone tablet Ishizu showed me. The Pharaoh's secret is probably sealed in the stone!"

Marik put his shirt back on and said, "My mission is complete. And so they do no more harm, I want you to keep the Millennium Ring and Millennium Rod."

"Yugi, if you tasted enough glory," said Mokuba, "the Battle City Tournament has ended. The title and pride of Duel King is yours for now. Now, the Duel Tower is useless, so I'm gonna blow it up."

"WHAT?" screamed Tristan and Duke.

"Remember, this Duel Tower represented Gozaburo. With the destruction of the tower, Seto wanted to be freed from his bad memories."

"I don't blame him," I said. "I only saw Gozaburo once, and I'd already like to forget him."

"Try living with him. So, once the blimp's engines are fixed and we're off this rock, this place goes up in smoke." With that, he and the judge headed down the tower.

Joey gasped. "We gotta go check up on Mai!" He dashed to the exit, with the rest of us running after him.

**00000000**

When we arrived in Mai's room, she was still in bed. "No, it can't be!" sobbed Joey. "Yugi won the duel so you're supposed to be all right! I'll give anything to have her back!"

A second later, we heard a noise. It sounded like giggling. And it came from Mai! "Were you crying?" she teased. "I can't believe you worried about me so much."

"WHAT? Mai, you…"

I chuckled. "That was a wicked burn, there."

"That wasn't cool!" snarled Duke.

When Mai stopped laughing she said, "Congrats on your duel, Yugi."

"Anyway," I said, "we should go find Bakura."

We searched for a few minutes, and eventually found him in the kitchen, raiding the refrigerator. "Where were you all this time?" asked Joey.

"I don't know exactly. I woke up and found myself in bed, hungry!"

"Apparently so," I answered. "I'm getting indigestion simply by looking at how much food you have there." My stomach rumbled. "Luckily, I'm a fast healer, so kindly pass me any Gouda cheese you find in there."

About a minute after we finished, Roland announced the engines couldn't be fixed, so we had to take a helicopter that was flown to the island, in order to tend to Odion and Mai. They obviously no longer needed tending to, but the helicopter had an engine that wasn't in an explosion like the blimp's engine. So, we left in that.

As the tower exploded, a jet plane shaped like the Blue Eyes White Dragon flew out of the island. Inside were the Kaiba brothers. "Surprise, surprise!" called Mokuba over the radio. Kaiba was also smiling.

Joey grabbed the radio. "KAIBA! DO YOU THINK IT'S FUNNY THAT WE WERE NEARLY KILLED?"

Kaiba only grinned. Mokuba said, "We aren't coming back with you guys; we're going to America to build a new Kaiba Land!"

"Sooner or later I'll invite you," said Kaiba. "Consider it thanks for using my card to get revenge on Marik." I wondered if he was speaking to Yugi or me. He then flashed a salute to us and flew off.

**00000000**

When we landed at the pier of Domino, the sun began to set. I figured it was pretty appropriate. As the day ended, so too did my Battle City experience. And at the same time, now that I was friends with Yugi, I knew a brand new set of adventures were just around the corner.

When we left the helicopter, Ishizu said, "My Pharaoh, I thank you for saving Marik from the evil that once consumed him." Marik nodded in agreement. "Now it's time for you to uncover the mysteries that surround your past."

"I hope in spite of all I've done, we can be friends," said Marik.

"Of course," said Yugi.

"Someday, we have to duel," I said. "I'll come seek you and Odion out."

"It's a deal," Marik and Odion said together.

A few minutes later, they left on Marik's private ship. After we called out our final goodbyes, Joey said, "Who knew there was a nice guy inside that evil, psychotic nutcase?"

"You certainly have a way with words," muttered Mai.

"I have to get back to America," said Duke. "After hearing about Kaiba's plans for Kaiba Land, I think I should come up with some new Dungeon Dice Monsters." He shook Shizuka's hand. "Take care, Shizuka."

Shizuka looked at her hand, surprised. There was a slip of paper with his phone number on it. "WHY YOU!" Tristan and I snapped. Duke just laughed and walked away.

"Everyone's going their own way," said Joey.

"Yeah," agreed Tristan. "I should probably come up with some sort of plan."

"There's still plenty of time to figure it out," said Téa.

Shizuka nodded. "You'll find it eventually."

"Yeah, you're right," said Tristan. "Thanks, Shizuka."

He shook her hand, passing his own phone number to her. "DAMMIT, TRISTAN!" I snapped. The others started laughing. I couldn't stay mad for long, and I quickly joined in that laugh.

"Well, it looks like it's my turn to say goodbye," said Mai. "Battle City is over, and it's time for me to move on."

"Oh, don't go!" pleaded Shizuka. "You were like a sister to me. I remember in the car ride when you talked about how when you first met Joey on the way to Duelist Kingdom, all he could talk about was how he was going to win the tournament so he could use the prize money for my operation."

"Thanks for taking care of me when my mind was in the Shadow Realm," she said. Then she turned to Yugi. "I'll meet you in the next tournament." She and Joey shared a glance, but no words were said. A second later, she walked to her convertible.

Téa poked Joey, saying, "At least be a man and put an end to it."

Joey nodded and ran after Mai. From where we stood, we couldn't hear their conversation. But it seemed to end on a good note, since they were both smiling before she drove away.

"And now I'm going to say farewell," said Darius. "I'm going to return to Ireland. Domino's a nice place, but it's too crowded for my tastes."

"We'll meet again, won't we?" I asked. "You're the closest thing I have to a father. Besides, you went way too easy on me during our last duel."

"You insolent little…" then he calmed down."But you have every right to be. I'll still play all the major tournaments. You'll see me again, no worries." As he walked away he added, "And bring Shizuka with you. I'll want to test her. Ciao, Selkirk Rex!"

I smirked. "And to you, Darius Lynch." _"May a loud noise startle you and knock you off your high-horse."_

**00000000**

Shizuka and Joey were kind enough to let me crash at their place that night. I took the floor, Joey took the couch, and Shizuka slept in the bed. I wasn't unhappy with the arrangement; at least I was on a futon.

When I awoke the next morning, Joey was already gone. "Where do you think he is?" I asked her.

"He probably went to duel against Yugi," she answered. "Téa told me that throughout the tournament, he was doing more than work his way up to the finals. Ever since Duelist Kingdom, he was striving to be worthy of a duel against Yugi. He dueled against Espa Roba, Weevil Underwood, and even Mako Tsunami just to be prepared."

I smirked. "That's Joey for you. I guess I'd do the same if I didn't already know I was worthy."

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "I never saw your battle against Yugi. How was it?"

So, over the next few minutes, I gave her the play-by-play. I finished by saying, "I can safely say that I'm the one who came closest to bringing him to his knees, apart from Marik." I frowned when I noticed she seemed troubled. "What's the prob?"

"I…I guess I'm worried that I may not be worth your time. You're such a good duelist, I may hold you back."

"I'm flattered, but I assure you it's fine. I'm a man of my word; I _will _train you so well, you'll be able to defeat me in a duel. That's my promise."

"But what do _you _get out of it?" she asked.

"Any victories you have bring honor to me, as well as Darius Lynch." _"Plus__…the fact that I'll be around you sweetens the experience."_ "Have I set your mind at ease?"

She nodded. "Thanks."

**00000000**

I waited about an hour at the train station for Shizuka. I didn't mind waiting, since I knew for a fact she'd be here. I didn't have many possessions: my Duel Disk, my cards, my wallet, my PDA and my motorbike. And so, I eagerly waited at the entrance with all my stuff. My excitement grew by the second. I knew very little about teaching someone how to duel.

It's true what they say; education only truly begins when you stop being taught.

When she arrived, she told me she caught up with Joey, and that he won his duel against Yugi. She also said Téa gave her one last look around Domino before leaving. "Are you ready?" I asked. She nodded. "I'll be waiting at the return terminal when you arrive. See you later."

With that, I equipped my helmet, hopped on my bike, and sped towards her home town of Azamawa. _"Let's see. Since I arrived, I became friends with a boy with the spirit of a pharaoh, held one of the strongest monster cards ever created, had my mind uploaded into a computer-generated world, and witnessed the battle that determined the fate of the world. And now, I'll be spending most of my time with Joey Wheeler's sister._

_"The handwriting's on the wall; my adventures haven't even started yet."_

The end…the hell it is!

This adventure may be over, but keep your eyes peeled. There will be many more adventures with Loki and Shizuka, with many more duels to be played. Until then, keep on drawing!

And I'd like to give special thanks to Cody, for his site helped me a lot as I recreated the duels. And thanks to the people who took the time to review my work:

e.t.e.r.n.i.t.i.e.s.E.C.H.O...  
The Spinner of Dreams


	21. Closing: Man in the Middle

Usyra: Thanks for sticking around. I thought we'd close things off with a song. I know that you won't hear us singing, but I felt the need to add this since it goes so well with my story. It's a little number by the Bee Gees from their last great record "This is where I came in", sung by the late Maurice Gibb. As we sing, feel free to imagine any montage you want. Take it away, Loki.

Loki: Sure thing. Ladies and gents…Man in the Middle. A-one, a-two, a-you-know-what-to-do…

000000000

You've got a plan that could never go wrong  
You took advantage and the damage done  
It all comes back to me baby  
It all comes back to me

I played the fool and I went off the track  
And when I think of all it cost  
When the die was cast  
You know I had to be crazy  
You know I had to be

I've been telling lies  
And you forgive me but my heart still cries  
And you can understand

I'm just the man in the middle  
Of a complicated plan  
No one to show me the signs  
I'm just a creature of habit  
In a complicated world  
Nowhere to run to  
Nowhere to hide

I know I let you down in so many ways  
I know that sorry doesn't tell you  
What you need me to say  
But, I would die for you baby  
Yes, I would die for you

I've been in disguise  
And you forgive me and our love will rise  
And you can understand

I'm just the man in the middle  
Of a complicated plan  
No one to show me the light  
Ah, yes, I'm weary from battle  
But I've just begun to fight  
Nowhere to run to  
Nowhere to hide

I'm just the man in the middle  
Of a complicated plan  
No one to show me the signs  
I'm just a creature of habit  
In a complicated world  
Nowhere to run to  
Nowhere to hide

I'm just the man in the middle  
Of a complicated plan  
No one to show me the light  
Ah, yes, I'm weary from battle  
But I've just begun to fight  
Nowhere to run to  
Nowhere to hide

I'm just the man in the middle  
The only man  
The fool of a man in the middle  
Nowhere to run to  
Nowhere to hide

I'm just the man  
The only man  
That stupid man  
Nowhere to run to  
Nowhere to hide

000000000

Usyra: Well, that was fun, wasn't it?

Loki: Pathetic! You should've told me you sucked at playing the keyboard.

Usyra: What? No I don't!

Loki: Just because you can write about how good you are, it doesn't mean you are. I don't mind doing this after our next adventure, but I'm moving you to bass. (Storms off)

Usyra: …Even from my own characters, I get no respect.


End file.
